Home Office immigration officials have visited a Turkish barber shop in Trowbridge to check the paperwork of employees.

Around five officers visited the Zaza barber shop in Silver Street on Thursday, September 28 to make the checks. No arrests were made.

The officers were making sure that everyone employed at the businesses had permits enabling them to work legally in the UK.

The owner of Zaza traditional Turkish barbers said the officers had visited to make sure no-one was working illegally.

They said: “I think someone must have reported us. The officers looked at the paperwork and then went. No-one was arrested.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Illegal working causes untold harm to our communities, cheating honest workers out of employment, putting vulnerable people at risk, and defrauding the public purse.

“Illegal working visits are up by more than 50 per cent on last year and arrests have more than doubled, with more people arrested in 2023 than during the whole of 2022 as a result of this activity. We are also removing those with no right to be in the UK.”        

The Home Office recently announced plans to triple civil penalty fines for employers or landlords found to be in breach of immigration laws.