Immigration swoop on Chinese restaurant

Six staff at a Chinese restaurant in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, have been served with deportation notices after police and immigration officials raided the premises.

Diners at the Pearl de Marc restaurant looked on as the six - two Chinese and four Malays - were arrested while working as kitchen and waiting staff.

At least five of the six are expected to lodge appeals against deportation, a process which can take several weeks, while one Malaysian woman is being sent home immediately.

No one at the restaurant was available for comment.

A Home Office spokesman said the restaurant owner could be prosecuted, although a warning was more likely for a first offence under the Asylum and Immigration Act.