AN ILLEGAL worker sparked terror fears after he was discovered working as a security guard at an Olympic site on Portland.

Officers from Dorset Police arrested the 26-year-old Pakistani national guarding a site where foundations have been laid for warehouses to house marine equipment during the sailing events in 2012.

The officers swooped on behalf of the UK Border Agency and the man is being held for deportation.

The arrest has sparked calls for security to be stepped up amid fears that terrorists may target Olympic sites.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “He was effectively guarding part of the construction site that’s going to have some warehouses on it that will store marine equipment during the Olympics.”

He said the college in Northamptonshire where the immigrant was registered as studying at was also being investigated after it told officials that he had a 95 per cent attendance record.

The spokesman said: “We are now conducting enquiries with the college as well as this individual’s employer.

“At the moment we are not 100 per cent clear who he was working for.

“We need to look at the paperwork to look at who his employer was as that employer is potentially liable for a fine of up to £10,000.

“The UK Border Agency and police are treating the matter seriously but also we emphasise that he’s been arrested on immigration grounds.”

The spokesman said no terrorist investigation was taking place and the man is being deported because he breached the terms of his student visa by working full time.

The man had previously been working at a supermarket at another town.

There were no people working on the site on Portland, believed to be in the Osprey Quay area, that he was guarding.

Phil Reay, the chief immigration officer for the UK Border Agency in Poole, said: “If we suspect a foreign national to be abusing the terms of their visa we will take action to arrest them and remove them from the country.

“If people want to work in the UK there are ways they can come here legitimately.

“We carry out frequent visits to businesses where we have information suggesting that immigration offenders are being employed.

“Any employer who takes on a foreign national without permission to work in the UK is undermining law-abiding businesses and faces a big fine.”

A spokesman for London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) security said they had nothing to add to the UK Border Agency’s statement.

Employers unsure of what steps they can take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit ukba. homeoffice.gov.ukadvice-for-employers or they can call the UK Border Agency’s Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699.

Anyone who suspects illegal workers are being employed can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/report-immigration-crime.