A British lorry driver who smuggled 6.3 million cigarettes through Dover has been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Colin Beattie, 45, of no fixed address, was found guilty of evading more than £1m in excise duty, following an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

He smuggled the cigarettes through Dover's Eastern Docks on July 14 2009, after travelling from Calais by ferry.

The cigarettes, in black shrink-wrapped boxes, had been hidden behind pallets of tomatoes in a lorry's refrigerated trailer unit.

His Honour Judge Gold said Beattie "had lied in the face of overwhelming evidence", adding he "did not believe that Beattie was only a courier."

Speaking after the case, Martin Brown, HMRC assistant director criminal investigation, said: "Beattie's ploy to deprive the UK economy of over one million pounds in duty failed and he is now paying the price.

"The cigarettes were counterfeit, meaning they were unlicensed and unregulated for the UK market. "

The jury at Maidstone Crown Court unanimously found Beattie guilty of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of duty chargeable on the cigarettes, contrary to Section 170 (2) of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979.

• Beattie imported so many stolen cigarettes their destruction helped power the national grid!