Two French men are awaiting trial for people-trafficking as the search continues for the illegal immigrants they are accused of shipping into Sussex.

The UK Border Agency confirmed officers are still hunting 23 people, believed to be from China, who were smuggled into Brighton Marina.

The Government agency, which is run by the Home Office, is now pledging to tighten controls on shipping with new rules requiring small boats and aircraft to contact the authorities before embarking or arriving in the UK.

A spokeswoman for the UK Border Agency said there is a good chance the 23 immigrants will be found.

She said: "There will be some people so desperate and so determined that they initially evade our detection but our close working with the police, our local immigration teams and our crack down on rogue employers mean that we are likely to track them down."

The illegal immigrants were brought into the country via the Marina on June 30.

Enrique Figueroa, 46, and Nelson Bazin, 22, were charged on July 1 with facilitating unlawful entry to the UK.

They were remanded in custody until a hearing at Lewes Crown Court on August 28.

Last month The Argus revealed more than 20 firms in Sussex - mostly restaurants - had been fined a total of £162,500 for employing people working illegally in the UK since February last year.

Also in July, about 30 people were spotted picking cockles in the sands at Littlehampton, many of whom were later found to be suspected illegal immigrants.

A vicar, Reverend Alex Brown, is awaiting trial accused of conducting more than 180 sham marriages between non-EU nationals and EU nationals to help people stay in the country.

Police have linked illegal immigration is linked to organised crime including selling counterfeit DVDs and the maintenance of cannabis factories.

Officers at Newhaven and Gatwick frequently deal with desperate attempts to enter the country.

Last month, eight people from Eritrea were arrested in Heathfield after jumping from the back of a lorry.

A man also froze to death in the undercarriage of a plane arriving at Gatwick from Ghana in West Africa.