MANAGEMENT staff at a restaurant in Corsham, which was raided by immigration officials, have been left shocked after three of their staff provided them with fake identification.

Two men, aged 22 and 25, and a 22-year-old woman, all from Albania, who were on a week-long trial in the kitchen of the La Piccola Italia restaurant, were arrested by Immigration Enforcement officers on Tuesday afternoon, after they were found to have entered the UK illegally.

However, staff at the Italian, which was opened in Corsham two years ago, are urging their competitors to check workers documents more carefully following the sting.

A spokesman for the restaurant said: “Immigration officers came to check the legal status of some of our workers on Tuesday. They found that three of our workers had fake ID.

“The three they arrested were working in the kitchen on a trial for a week. They spoke fluent Italian and provided us with Italian ID but when the Home Office spoke to them they gave different names and spoke in a different language.

“We want to appeal to all our competitors out there to check and double check the information your workers provide you.”

The restaurant are now waiting for the Civil Penalty Referral notice, which will give them an opportunity to demonstrate that they carried out appropriate checks and prevent a £60,000 penalty from being imposed.

"We are in shock, but we are still awaiting the form and when we get it, we'll have a chance to explain our side of the story," the spokesman added.

"The restaurant is still open, and we still serve good food."

The three workers which officers arrested were taken to an immigration detention centre and will be deported in the near future.

Rory Mcfarlane, a local taxi driver, saw the raid happen on Tuesday as he grabbed a coffee.

"I heard a lot of commotion and heard a lot of shouting. I then saw officers grab one man," he said. "It's a shame that this has happened, it is a good business."