Pamela Ainsworth, partner Mick and her 11-year-old daughter were then forced to make the 315 mile journey home from the south coast in a hire car.

The drama began as the family went through customs on their way back from Calais where they had stocked up on booze and tobacco.

After a three hour search and interrogation customs officers refused to believe that 12kg of tobacco in 250 pouches and 1,200 cigarettes were for personal use.

They impounded the family's W-reg Rover 25 and also the tobacco and cigarettes which had cost £800. Officers allowed them to keep their alcohol, which they loaded into a hire car.

Miss Ainsworth, 40, said: "I have never known anything like it in my life. They were really intimidating."The biggest shock of all is that

"Why don't they put their efforts into catching real criminals not innocent everyday shoppers."

Miss Ainsworth, who is currently not working, insisted the tobacco was for the couple's own consumption and that the couple had only been on one other cruise in the past.

A HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) leaflet states that a traveller will be "particularly likely to be asked questions" if carrying more than 3,200 cigarettes or 3kg of tobacco. It adds that if goods are smuggled in a car, the car may be seized.

A HMRC spokesman said: "All travellers are issued with written details of why their goods have been seized and how they can challenge such a seizure through the official channels."