SHOPKEEPERS in Kent says they are dismayed by a High Court ruling on cross-Channel shopping which they insist say will severely affect tobacco sales.

Customs' methods of operating were found to be "incompatible" with EU law by Lord Justice Brook and Mr Justice Bell, after a case was brought by Hoverspeed and a group of day trippers who were stopped at random and had their goods and car confiscated.

The court criticised Customs as not having reasonable grounds to stop the vehicle, and therefore no grounds to impound it or its load. There is no legal maximum on the number of cigarettes or weight of tobacco travellers can bring back if it is for personal use.

Shopkeepers fear the ruling will lead to more people shopping cross-Channel for bigger quantities of tobacco, and result in more contraband in Kent.

Losses on cigarette sales already threaten the future of many corner shops in East Kent, according to tobacconist Jim Ingram, who owns Ingram's in Tankerton and is spokesperson for the Tobacco Alliance, a national group campaigning for the government to reduce tax on cigarettes.

He said: "This decision and the publicity it has attracted makes people more aware that they can go over and buy tobacco cross-Channel. It's like advertising, shoppers will think it's brilliant. As a result local shopkeepers will lose more and more money."