Two Sussex pensioners have reportedly been arrested in Israel while trying to visit Palestine.

John Lynes, 83, a retired university lecturer said to be from East Sussex and Audrey Gray, 77, a retired nurse from West Chiltington, were said by campaigners to have been among 12 British people detained after arriving at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport yesterday.

It is not known why they were held.

They were part of a Scottish-led party intending to visit Bethlehem on the invitation of families there.

Sofiah Macleod, the UK-based contact for the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: "I spoke to consular staff this morning who told me that the arrest was quite rough.

"They were all handcuffed and shackled and put into vans after standing around for quite a long time, and you can see from their ages that a lot of them are retired.

"Otherwise they`re all fine."

She said that travel to the West Bank is theoretically open to British passport holders, unlike Gaza which is currently under Israeli blockade.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We have received reports of a number of British nationals being detained at the airport in Tel Aviv.

"We have a consular team at the airport who are seeking access to them to ensure that we can provide the appropriate assistance."