Police rescued two children escaping Iran– the youngest five – from the back of a refrigerated lorry in the Fens.

And they were so moved by their plight “our officers bought them some new clothes”.

The heart-warming story was relayed, briefly, on the East Cambridgeshire Police Facebook page.

Police say the two children who were among a group of people found in the back of the refrigerated lorry on Thursday.

The boys, aged five and 16, were with their parents and are believed to have travelled from Iran.

“Working with paramedics the officers from Ely checked their welfare and got them to safety,” said a police spokesperson.

They were discovered in the lorry parked at Barway, near Soham.

“The family will now be supported by social services and dealt with by immigration,” said the spokesperson.

“Three other men were arrested and will be handed over to immigration.”

The spokesperson added: “Incidents such as this often show the desperation of people to seek a better life.

“Some pay large sums of money to human traffickers and then when they arrive in the UK can become trapped in modern slavery.”