Cockler operation unearths fraud

Legitimate cockers at the beach welcomed the operation

A fraud swoop on hundreds of cockle-pickers on a Merseyside beach found a fifth were working while claiming unemployment benefits.

More than 200 officers from the police and government agencies took part in Operation Omega on the Dee estuary on the Wirral on Wednesday.

About 400 people were found working on the three-quarter mile stretch of coast known as the Wirral Way between Heswall and Thurstaston.

A total of 80 of them were working illegally while claiming benefits.

About 47 untaxed vehicles and 48 which were unroadworthy were found during the operation, said work minister Malcolm Wicks.

There are believed to be £500,000 worth of cockles in the beds at any given time and pickers remove them by the lorry-load for export to Spain and other European countries, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"It's a big industry," said Mr Wicks.

'More regulation'

"The great majority of cocklers are honest people and many of them, when they saw our operation hit the beaches, welcomed the fact that we were doing something about illegal cocklers.

"I think it's an area where we probably need more regulation in the future.

"The problem is that local people, including the honest cocklers, were concerned that suddenly hundreds of people were turning up on the beaches, some from other parts of the world.

"Immigration officers took part in the operation. I don't think they made any arrests, but there was a concern about illegal workers from other countries."

The raid was led by the Department of Work and Pensions, Merseyside Police, North Wales Police, Customs and Excise, the Vehicle Inspectorate, the DVLA, the immigration service and the National Asylum Seekers Service were also involved.