Eight migrants who stowed away on a Lifecycle truck on its way from Morocco to Malta were discovered by Moroccan police during an inspection before the Lifecycle group was due to board a ferry to Spain last night, a spokesman for the group said.

The spokesman, Karen Zammit, explained that following the end of the Lifecycle challenge on Sunday, the support team started its journey back to Malta on three campers and a closed truck carrying equipment.

The three campers were allowed through by the border police without any bother, but the team was shocked when the police found the eight migrants hidden away in the truck. The migrants tried to run away but were held by the police.

"The drivers were shocked. The migrants must have boarded the truck when they stopped for some refreshment at a petrol station", Ms Zammit said. It was only when the migrants were discovered that the driver noticed that the back door of the truck had been broken.

The Moroccan police briefly took away the passports of the Maltese team on the truck.

"The situation was resolved thanks to the immense assistance of Olaf Terribile, the director of protocol at the Malta Foreign Ministry" Ms Zammit said. The team was expected to board the ferry for Spain last night.

The Lifecycle team cycled all the away from Lourdes to Casablanca to raise funds for the Renal Unit at Mater Dei Hospital. The convoy is due back on Sunday.

The drivers and assistants on the truck and campers are Audrick Plum, Mark Zammit, Lawrence Bellizi, Fr Pierre Grech Marguerat, James Cutajar and Mario Scerri.