AN attendant at a rural petrol station was amazed when two Afghan migrants walked in and asked: ''Is this part of Britain?''

Karen France, 22, was working at the garage attached to Purdy Lodge hotel near Belford, Northumberland, when they arrived on Sunday.

When she confirmed that they were in Britain they asked if they could change their money from euros into pounds and she directed them to the hotel cafe.

They went with a third man and she alerted the police.

The men were believed to have been dropped off in the region by a lorry travelling on the nearby A1 trunk road.

Ms France said yesterday: ''They seemed a bit agitated. The first thing they said was: 'Is this part of Britain?'." The pair returned when they realised they could not change the money at the cafe and asked to use the telephone to call a taxi. When they were refused they became aggressive and started shouting before the police arrived. They were later taken to the Immigration Service in North Shields.

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Immigration Service is working closely with the police to track clandestine entry into the country and working together to cut down on illegal traffic across the North Sea and the English Channel.''