Migrant found squashed under bonnet of car trying to enter Spain from Morocco

Hidden in a dashboard

Spanish police have found a would-be migrant hidden in a secret compartment of a car that was attempting to enter a Spanish enclave in North Africa from neighbouring Morocco.

Officers stripped down the BMW saloon in the coastal city of Melilla after noticing it was being driven by two young men they suspected of being people smugglers.

Police said that during their search they detected the sound of a heart beat coming from under the engine. Investigating further, the officers discovered a 19-year-old Guinean man who was described as being in 'a very bad physical state'.

Spain's Guardia Civil said they 'carried out an exhaustive search and found a false compartment inside the dashboard,' from where the 19-year-old Guinean migrant emerged.

His condition was so bad that he needed to be hospitalised immediately, they added.

The two suspected smugglers fled the scene. But one of them, a Spaniard aged 23, was later arrested and charged with people trafficking.