Dispute over British family who say they strayed into US

US authorities are disputing account of two British couples who say y were held in dire conditions with ir three young children for two weeks after mistakenly straying into US from Cana. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested seven family members on October 2 for entering country unlawfully from British Columbia where y were vacationing. two couples said y ended up in United States invertently after swerving down a ro along US-Canian border to avoid hitting an animal.

y were deported overnight Tuesday and were back in Britain Wednesday, said immigration attorneys with Aldea -- People's Justice Center, a legal group that assisted m. But officials have disputed family's account of events, saying ir vehicle was seen on video "slowly and deliberately" driving across border.

"A vehicle was observed via remote video surveillance system turning west onto Avenue 0 in British Columbia, Cana," CPB said in a statement to AFP on Wednesday. " vehicle n turned south and entered US illegally, by slowly and deliberately driving through a ditch onto Boundary Ro in Lynden, Washington." It said record checks revealed that two of ults -- who have filed a complaint with Department of Homeland Security -- h previously been denied authorization to enter US.

"Cana refused to allow ir return and two attempts to contact consulate for United Kingdom were unsuccessful," CBP said in justifying family's detention.

Eileen Conrs, 24, one of Britons detained with her husband and three-month-old son, described family's ordeal in a statement, saying it was " scariest experience of our entire lives." She said group was turned over to immigration nts in Washington state after sleeping on a "dirty floor" in a border patrol station following ir arrest. y were n transferred to a detention facility across country in Reing, Pennsylvania, on October 5, where she said conditions worsened.

"This facility is frigid," said Conrs in her statement. " staff here first told us y cant turn on heat in building until end of next month," despite temperatures plunging at night.

Conrs said her three-month-old son's health has suffered as a result of poor conditions that included sleeping on a "filthy concrete floor." She said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees offered to remove baby after she complained, echoing accounts of parents separated from ir children at US sourn border.

"If we wanted, we could sign papers to allow him to be separated from us and taken to some or facility," Conrs said. "We were shocked and disgusted." An ICE spokesman disputed Conr's account, describing facility -- Berks Family Residential Center -- as having "an outstanding track record." In a statement to AFP, Aldea dismissed CBP's justification for detaining family and said it hoped incident would shine spotlight on plights of many families and children in immigration custody.

"ir (CBP) communication in way contricts family's account that for a brief moment y turned into an unmarked ro on United States soil," statement res. It ded that family was traveling in a Canian rental car with eugh cash to cover expenses of a prolonged trip for a family of seven. Conrs said incident h left family "traumatized for rest of our lives." Last June, a French citizen visiting her mor in British Columbia was arrested by CBP and held for two weeks after straying across border while jogging along a beach.