An illegal immigrant was killed when she fell from the lorry she had hidden in to enter the country.

The woman fell under a lorry towing an articulated trailer when she tried to climb from the vehicle last night. Four other stowaways were arrested by police.

The woman, who has not been identified, climbed from the middle section of the trailer as the driver pulled away from traffic lights in Silverhill, St Leonards. A police spokesman said she fell between the hitching mechanism of the trailer and was run over.

She was taken to the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, with serious head injuries and later died. Her nationality is not known. The woman was one of five people in the vehicle, which had travelled from Dover. The Austrian driver, who was badly shaken by the incident, was taken to Hastings Police Station for questioning. He has not been arrested.

The other occupants of the lorry were also taken to Hastings Police Station. Their nationality is not known. Asylum seekers living in Sussex cost councils almost £1.25 million more than the Government provided last year. It meant East Sussex County Council had to spend £249,979 of its own funds supporting them.

Brighton and Hove Council paid £453,109 and West Sussex County Council paid £451,656 between April and December last year. It led to calls from politicians and tax payers that the county had become a "soft target," although the authorities can claim the cash back from the Home Office.

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Sussex from eastern Europe and war-torn African countries like Angola and Sudan has doubled in the last year. In September violence flared between ethnic groups at a hostel for asylum seekers in

Hastings.

Fighting broke out at the Hotel Adelphi in Warrior Square and led to three arrests. The hotel had been occupied by around 100 Kurds, Kosovans, Albanians and Afghans The following month Hastings Council said it was teaming up with a consortium aimed at improving conditions for asylum seekers and to monitor the mix of ethnic groups.

The authority's decision to join the South East England Regional Consortium means the number of asylum seekers placed in the town reflects available resources. Eastbourne Council announced it would join the consortium last November.

Witnesses to the accident were asked to contact Bexhill traffic police on 0845 60 70 999.

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