Toby Robyns, British tourist, arrested in Turkey. Picture: The Sun

Toby Robyns, 52, was arrested in front of his horrified family as they prepared to fly home.

Airport staff in Bodrum said the coins were historical artefacts.

A friend of the ambulance driver, of Southwick, West Sussex, said: “His family are distraught”.

The father of five has been held on suspicion of “finding Turkish artefacts without notifying authorities”.

His alleged offence carries a three-year jail sentence.

Family friend James Stoneham, said: “They are accusing him of taking Turkish artefacts which he was obviously unaware of.

“It was a huge shock for everybody. This was harmless fun on a holiday you’ve enjoyed — and now he has been put in prison.

“He’s going to have to be held for possibly a month.”

Mr Robyns found 13 old coins and decided to take them home as a souvenir of his fortnight-long break in Turgutreis.

But security staff at Bodrum airport who found them in his hand luggage deemed them historical treasures.

Toby Robyns, 52, was arrested at Bodrum airport in Turkey. Picture: The SunSource:The Sun

Mr Stoneham, 47, added: “He found a number of coins among the rocks and sand.

“When he went to get his flight home they dragged him off and searched his hand luggage.”

Mr Robyns, of Southwick, near Brighton, West Sussex, was arrested in front of his family.

“He was taken to a police station and hauled before a court the following day.

His distraught wife Heidi, 43, a doctor’s receptionist, and their two sons Baxter, nine, and Brodie, seven, have since flown home.

Mr Robyns has been remanded in custody until a decision is made whether to charge him.

It could take four to six weeks as parts of Turkey have a judicial holiday this month.

The British tourist has been arrested after he picked up 13 old coins he found while snorkelling off the coast of Turgutreis.Source:istock

It is understood that Mr Robyns is being held at a small white-bricked compound called Milas Prison, which holds about 70 inmates.

Guards are stationed at the front gate and on the roof of the detention centre.

There are said to be up to 25 shipwrecks from the 4th to 16th centuries around Yassi Ada island — just four miles from where Mr Robyns’s found the coins.

Locals believe a 5.3 magnitude earthquake which struck Bodrum two weeks ago may have shifted the coins closer to the shore.

A family member, who asked not to be named, added: “Toby is always snorkelling. It’s his hobby.

“He’s definitely not a smuggler and that’s what I think they are trying to say.

“They are making a mountain out of a molehill.

“I don’t know what they thought he would do.

“It was stupid of him. I thought he would get a slap on his wrists, they would confiscate the coins and send him on his way.”

The Turkish prison where My Robyns is being held. Image: Google MapsSource:Supplied

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are assisting a British man following his arrest in Bodrum, and remain in contact with his family and the Turkish authorities.”

This article originally appeared in The Sun and was republished here with permission.