An Iranian man who walked into the grounds at Wilmslow High School asking for help has been handed to immigration officials.

School bosses said the man was cold and hungry and asked the caretaker to call police.

In a letter to parents, headteacher James Pullé said the realities of the current migrant situation in Europe had ‘arrived at Wilmslow High School’.

The man entered the school grounds early in the morning and spoke to the caretaker, asking him to call police. The caretaker took the 20-year-old in and gave him a warm drink until police came before the school opened.

Officers arrested the man and passed him into the custody of immigration officers. A Home Office spokesman said no further details could be released while the case was being investigated.

He said: “An Iranian man was passed to the Home Office and placed in immigration detention after his arrest by police.

“His case is being progressed.”

Mr Pullé told parents that teachers would be discussing the matter with students as part of their presentations about the current migrant situation.

He said: “The realities of the current migrant situation in Europe arrived at Wilmslow High School yesterday, when at 6.30am an anxious and extremely cold young man passing the school on the public footpath between the A34 and Holly Road approached our site manager to request help in calling for assistance from the police. The young man was accommodated in the office of Ms Powley, our Deputy Headteacher, and remained accompanied by two members of staff at all times.

“Cheshire Police responded promptly and were able to establish through the assistance of a telephone translation service that the young man was a Kurd speaker of Iranian origin.

“The young man left the school site under the care of the Police before 8am and was grateful for the shelter, support and refreshment we had been able to give him. Throughout his time with us he was polite, quiet and gentle.”

A Cheshire Police spokesman said officers attended after reports of concern for the man’s welfare, adding: “The caller had come across a man who was cold and wet and had asked for the police. He was given shelter and a warm drink while he waited for police and is being handed to immigration officers.”