Former British judo champion jailed for attempting to smuggle Albanian asylum seekers into UK

Robert Stilwell and Mark Stribling were attempting to cross the English Channel when their boat had to be rescued

(Getty)

A former judo champion who represented Great Britain has been jailed for attempting to smuggle Albanian migrants into the UK.

Robert Stilwell, 33, and 35-year-old Mark Stribling were jailed for more than four years at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday after admitting the offence.

The pair were caught after when inflatable boat had to be rescued off the coast of Kent in May after it started to sink.

Judge Jeremy Carey said tragedy was averted “by a whisker” thanks to a large scale operation by the RNLI and Coastguard.

"This case shows the best and the worst of human characteristics,” he told the court.

"On the part of the rescue services, a real and conspicuous devotion to duty and at considerable risk to themselves.

"On your part, greed, recklessness and deceit and the desire to get easy money.

"In the event, there was a rescue and those who were rescued should be very grateful, as you should be to those who came to your aid. A tragedy was averted by a whisker."

Their vessel was towed to Dover, where those on board were met by Border Force officials and police.

Stilwell and Stribling were due to be paid £2,000 to travel to the French coast near Calais and transport the Albanian migrants – who had paid £6,000 each for the treacherous crossing.

The asylum seekers - 15 men, one woman and two children - had waded into the water before climbing on board the white rigid inflatable boat (rib) on the evening of 28 May.

But the boat lost power as they attempted to cross the English Channel, drifting for three hours as it started to take of water.

The Coastguard was only alerted to the impending disaster because of phone calls the migrants made to family members.

A video from the search and rescue helicopter played to the court showed a migrant using a small container to try to bail out the boat, while Stribling could be seen remonstrating with others on board.

When lifeboat crews arrived, the woman was “showing signs of hypothermia”, prosecutor Nina Ellin said. Her husband later told police there were threats “the boat would be punctured” with scissors if they alerted authorities and that they would be “thrown into the sea”.

Ms Ellin added: “They believe if they had been 10 more minutes on that boat they would have died.”

Stribling, of Hilltop Farm, Farningham, was jailed for four years and eight months and Stilwell, of Stanley Close, Greenhithe, was sentenced to four years and four months in prison.

Stilwell represented Great Britain in Commonwealth and European judo championships, winning several medals.

He appeared stunned by the sentence and mouthed ”Tell them I love them“ as he was taken from the dock, while Stribling smirked.

Additional reporting by PA