Illegal migrants are paying up to £10,000 each for a seat on tourist flights via Ireland in a bid to start a new life in the UK.

People smugglers charge between £500 and £1000 to squash migrants into the back of lorries making a luxurious flight a much more appealing option.

Migrants are sold fake passports and visas and have seats booked for them on regular tourist flights.

The ‘club class’ scam only came to light when 10 people smugglers were arrested in Paris and all made full confessions in a bid for reduced jail sentences.

The French anti-immigration authorities stated it’s a true reflection on how desperate these people are to start a new life in the UK. “These people were prepared to devote their life savings and an airborne immigration package was their best option,” declared one official.