A West Devon man admitted making a number of voyages to smuggle illegal migrants into the UK, a jury has been told.

Tony Williams, from Lydford, and Monet Roberts, from London, have gone on trial charged with conspiring to assist in the unlawful immigration into the UK.

Williams denies one charge in connection with an alleged incident involving a boat dropping off seventeen migrants at Slapton Sands on the south Devon coast on June 15 2022.

Plymouth Crown Court heard that Williams, now 60, also faces a second charge with Roberts of conspiracy to assist in people smuggling in July 2023 in Mothecombe on the south Devon coast.

Prosecutor Frederick Hookway told the jury that Williams admitted to investigators that he chartered a boat to south Devon to deliver migrants into the UK and expected to be paid for it.

He said Roberts was on the second boat seen in Mothecombe but claimed he simply did not know what was going on and had been misled about the purpose of the voyage.

Mr Hookway said that a local boatman spotted a vessel 'looking out of place' in Pilchard's Cove before it moved to the beach at Slapton Sands one morning in June 2022.

The court heard Williams piloted the boat , that 17 people were on board in total and some of them carried suitcases as they came ashore.

Mr Hookway said:"The witness formed the view they were likely to be illegal immigrants into the UK and he reported what he had seen to the coastguard."

A mother and son who were camping nearby saw two men on the beach lead the people from the boat into two people carrier taxis – and the drivers later said they were paid £500 each by an Eastern European man to drive the fares to Brent Cross in North London.

Mr Hookway said Williams was arrested in December 2022 and admitted making several similar trips and for each successful operation with 15 illegal migrants he would be paid £3,000 per migrant, or around £50,000 a trip.

He said he had made three successful trips making him around £150,000, the jury was told.

Williams claimed he was compelled to act as he did out of fear but the prosecution reject this and allege he was “enticed and encouraged by the rewards”.

When his home was searched, a letter to his partner read 'only open if a problem' and said to ask a named man for £24,500 and that he had £9,000 in bitcoin.

HMRC inquiries said Williams had no declared income but his bank account showed between December 2020 and September 2022 he had spent £215,000 on boating activities.

Roberts, from London, was found on the boat at Mothecombe in July 2023 but claimed he had been hoodwinked into the enterprise. Williams, who was on bail for the first alleged incident in June 2022, was also on board.

Mr Hookway said in July 2023 a number of men of eastern European appearance arrived in a car park at Mothecombe in south Devon and climbed out of several cars.

A single-masted sailing boat was just off shore by the beach and some rocks and a witness saw a group of men walk up the beach from the yacht and Williams and Roberts were allegedly on board.

Border Force stopped the yacht called Timber Wolf later the same afternoon and Williams had three phones on him and charts of French ports.

Six Albanian men were later stopped by police at Wrangaton, south Devon, in a car spotted earlier at the beach. The two men deny the conspiracy charges with persons unknown and their trial continues.