The BBC reported that a Home Office immigration enforcement team and Sussex Police officers visited the Vistry job in Bexhill where they detained 17 men of Albanian, Georgian and Indian nationalities deemed to be working illegally.

Four of the men were detained for removal from the UK while the remainder were placed on strict immigration bail, a Home Office spokesperson told the BBC.

A civil penalty referral notice was also issued to the employer with fines of up to £60,000 per worker if found to have employed illegal workers.

Chief immigration officer in the South East, Harry Taylor, said: “This operation sends a clear signal that we are coming down hard on illegal working and there is no hiding place from the law.”