FORMER Kent cricketer Eldine Baptiste is recovering in Maidstone after being detained for three days by customs men who wrongly suspected he had been in possession of drugs at Heathrow airport.

Mr Baptiste, who is also an ex-West Indies all-rounder, had been en route to South Africa after visiting relatives in his native Antigua when his nightmare begun on Sunday morning.

He was locked up for two nights in Wandsworth Prison while his five-year-old daughter, Kelsyn, who was accompanying him, was made to complete the rest of the journey without her father.

In an extraordinary story, customs officals believed they had found traces of cocaine contained in golf balls that Mr Baptiste was carrying in his luggage. But their findings emerged as being erroneous and Mr Baptiste was released without charge.

Now he is considering legal action against the authorities after what he described as "the worst part of my life".

Mr Baptiste's friend David Folb, the chairman of Lashings CC, travelled to Wandsworth to collect the player on Tuesday, accompanied by former West Indies captain and Lashings player Richie Richardson.

Baptiste will spend a few days in Maidstone before completing his journey back to South Africa where he has been coach for two years to the Natal Dolphins and has just agreed a two year extension to his contract.

"The way I have been treated is an absolute disgrace," said Mr Baptiste, veteran of 10 Tests. "I cannot understand that even though you haven't been found guilty they are treating you like a criminal and that to me is unacceptable. I was not even able to brush my teeth or take a shower.

"I am just grateful for the support from the people in Kent where I spent many years as a player and also the people in South Africa and Antigua. They know the kind of person that I am and that that sort of thing was never something that I would be involved in."

Now Baptiste cannot wait to be reunited with Kelsyn who made the 11 hour flight from London to Antigua on her own before being collected by family friends off the plane in Durban.