A teenager was questioned by police who thought her art project was evidence of terrorist activity.

Firearms officers searched Edwyna Dyer's home and she spent two hours answering questions at Brighton police station.

Edwyna, 19, went to pick up some photos she had taken to Boots for developing for an art assignment. After being told to come back in half an hour, Edwyna was met by the shop manager who took her to the back of the store where a policeman was waiting.

The student was cautioned and her photos destroyed.

She said: "It was very intimidating. At first I thought something had fallen into my bag.

"My bag's quite big and I thought they might think I'd been shoplifting but then they said something about the content of the photos.

"It just hadn't occurred to me. The policeman read me my rights and I kept interrupting, saying I was only a student."

Edwyna's art class at City College, Pelham Street, Brighton, had been asked to pick a newspaper article and expand issues and images arising from it.

She chose an article about the sniper who went on the rampage in Washington last month and was planning to add some photos of her own.

She said: "I took pictures of my dad, a court usher, from behind with fake guns left over from a James Bond theme party.

"I couldn't find any tarot cards, like the one found near a victim in Washington, so I scribbled 'I am God' on pieces of paper and also used a map of Washington and binoculars. They were pretty amateur photos and it was so obviously staged."

After taking the photos for developing, Edwyna, of Stanford Avenue, Brighton, waited an hour before returning to the London Road store to collect the snaps.

Edwyna was told machines had broken down and she would have to come back in half an hour - when the policeman was waiting.

After being cautioned, she accompanied the officer to John Street police station where she was quizzed for two hours.

She said: "I was only on my lunch break from college. The police had to tell them I wouldn't be back for class.

"My friends all laughed when I told them I had been mistaken for a terrorist."

A spokeswoman for Boots said: "Our procedures were followed.

"If there is anything sensitive or of a distasteful nature in photographs we have a duty to seek advice from the police.

"As for compensation, Ms Dyer would have to contact the store in question."

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said Boots was right to contact them.

She said: "The photos were very concerning.

"They had to be destroyed because we were worried they could be circulated. The lady signed a disclaimer allowing us to destroy them."