HOVERSPEED is making a £50m damages claim against Customs and Excise after accusing its staff of being heavy-handed when searching passengers.

It’s the latest move in a long dispute during which Hoverspeed has accused the authorities of putting people off making innocent shopping trips across the Channel.

In 2002 the High Court ruled that random stop and searches carried out on Hoverspeed passengers were unlawful. The latest claim is for alleged loss of revenue and passenger goodwill.

Customs and Excise say they believe they have a strong case and will vigorously defend their position.

In a case brought by Hoverspeed passengers in 2002, the High Court ruled that Customs and Excise had not proved "reasonable grounds" for stopping a family and that its policy was "incompatible" with EU law.

"We got a landmark decision against Customs & Excise for their tactics against cross-Channel shoppers," said Steve Lawrence, spokesman for Sea Containers which is Hoverspeed's parent company. At the time we reserved the right to claim for damages.”

Travellers can bring back unlimited amounts of alcohol and cigarettes from the continent as long as they are for personal use.

Customs and Excise say they may stop anyone thought to be carrying goods over a "minimum indicative level" of 800 cigarettes, 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits, 110 litres of beer and 20 litres of fortified wine. It must also be for their personal use.

In September 2003, Hoverspeed started issuing notices to all its passengers giving advice and asking people to fill in questionnaires about Customs.

As well as advising people that they should demand to know a customs officer's name and badge number if they were stopped, the company also asked whether passengers felt threatened by customs officers, and if they were told by officers not to travel with Hoverspeed again.