Paris - A 14-year-old Moroccan boy rode 1,300 kilometres from Tangiers right across Spain to the French city of Biarritz hiding and clinging in the axle area of a truck.

French customs said Saturday the boy was discovered during a border check, and he was handed over to a home.

Aid organisations said the case is far from rare - large numbers of illegal migrants were unaccompanied minors.

They said that in the Calais region, where would-be migrants try to jump trucks heading for Britain, some 2,300 minors were caught last year - more than a third of them aged under 16. (dpa)