A GANG of 21 stowaway migrants overran a UK-bound ship after hiding in one of its cargo of 100ft wind turbine blades.
The crew, thought to be just ten sailors, made panicked radio calls to say they were outnumbered after discovering the Albanians.
The migrants were feared to have “taken effective control” of the vessel and were demanding food and cigarettes while it was anchored off Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
Nineteen men and two children hid in the wind farm sail before it was loaded onto the ship in Bilbao, northern Spain.
It set off last Friday and they were found as it reached the UK coast on Tuesday.
A pilot required to guide the huge cargo vessel into port saw them on deck yesterday morning and decided it was too dangerous to escort in.
He returned with security, including border officials — but was said to be delayed bringing the ship in because police were “late” arriving.
The crew was left to deal with the migrants for almost 24 hours while officials worked out how to deal with them.
A source told The Sun: “It sounds mad but they were hidden in one of those huge turbine blades for days.
“No one thought to check in the blades at Bilbao and by the time the migrants jumped out, the ship was close to Britain.
“I think they were so tired and hungry they came across as much scarier than they intended and there were serious concerns they could take the ship.”
The Dutch-registered Rotra Mare finally docked in Great Yarmouth just after 2pm yesterday when Border Force and police were seen surrounding the boat.
The Albanians were today being processed by the Home Office, where a spokesman said: “They will be dealt with in line with the immigration rules.”
Bilbao is a hotspot for migrants, with 3,800 stowaway attempts foiled last year.
