Brexit: Dutch officials confiscate ham sandwiches from bemused UK visitors

One driver who arrived by ferry at the Hook of Holland seaport was left bemused after being told he would lose his ham sandwiches. Credit: PA

Dutch border officials have confiscated ham sandwiches from bemused UK travellers as regulators get to grips with the new post-Brexit trade agreement.

Dutch TV network NPO filmed customs patrols explaining to arrivals that they cannot take meat or dairy products into the EU.

One driver who arrived by ferry at the Hook of Holland seaport was left bemused after being told he would lose his ham sandwiches.

The man asked whether he could “take off the meat and you leave me the bread?”

But a border guard responded: “No, everything will be confiscated. Welcome to the Brexit, sir. I’m sorry.”

There have been fears of a lorry build up in Kent as businesses get used to the new trading arrangments. Credit: PA

New arrangements for UK travellers in the EU came into force when the Brexit transition period ended on December 31.

Businesses have been warned they will face significant disruption at the UK border as a result of Brexit for the next few weeks.

The trade deal between the EU and the UK was finally reached on Christmas Eve, which brought relief to both sides but left business almost no time to get ready for when it came into effect on January 1.

There have been fears of a build-up of lorries in Kent as hauliers get to grips with the new customs declarations.

In the first week of 2021 around 700 lorries were turned away from the border as a result of not having the right documentation.

The new trading arrangement between the UK and the EU has already presented some unexpected problems

Marks & Spencer's popular Percy Pig sweets which are produced in Germany now has to be exported into the UK and then exported again to Northern Ireland.

CEO Steve Rowe warned last week the new trading arrangements are set to “significantly impact” its overseas ventures in Ireland, the Czech Republic and France, although he insisted the company is “actively working to mitigate” the issues.