A LORRY driver has been jailed for three months for trying to smuggle in nearly 28,000 cigarettes.

Brian Lormor, 59, from Hetton-le-Hole, near Sunderland, was intercepted by customs officers at Norwich Airport last October 24, when he stepped off a flight from Tenerife.

The cigarettes, which would have had a duty of about £4,000, were discovered in two green suitcases.

Lormor pleaded guilty at Norwich Magistrates' Court and was sentenced to three months in jail.

John Barber, regional customs spokesman for East Anglia, said: "I hope that this sentence acts as a deterrent.

"There were only a relatively small quantity of cigarettes involved here, but people need to realise that it is a crime that undermines society.

"Not only is the Government denied the revenue which could be spent on hospitals and schools, but it hurts legitimate business."