Customs officials seized more than £850,000 in cash from travellers at Stansted Airport over the last year.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) confiscated £866,213 at the Essex airport during the 2017/18 tax year.

The figure was obtained by this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act.

According to HMRC, the currency consisted of mixed sterling, Scottish notes, US dollars and US postal orders.

HMRC was also asked to provide information on the intended destination of each traveller, their gender, age and nationality, and the reason for seizure of the cash.

The government department said providing any more detail could jeopardise operational activity.

Anyone travelling between non-EU countries and the UK must declare cash of 10,000EUR or an equivalent sum in pounds.

Declared cash can be seized if customs officers have reasonable grounds to suspect a crime.