Patrick Olszowski (second right) drove with his family to Sweden

The Olszowskis, from Sevenoaks in Kent, were due to fly to Stockholm early on Friday, but British Airways (BA) informed them the flight was off.

Patrick Olszowski, 29, said the replacement they were offered would have arrived too late.

BA said it was doing its utmost to ease the flight problems at Heathrow.

The Olszowskis wanted to arrive in time for Christmas Eve, a key part of the festive season in Sweden.

We have been through seven countries in the past 24 hours Patrick Olszowski

The mother, father, two sons, daughter and prospective son-in-law drove to Dover to catch a ferry to Calais at 1015 GMT.

"The only thing to do was to drive," said Mr Olszowski, whose mother is Swedish.

"We got one of the last slots on the Dover to Calais ferry and we have been through seven countries in the past 24 hours."

Their journey has taken them from the UK, through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Denmark, into Sweden.

They travelled in two cars and took turns to drive in four-hour shifts.

A British Airways spokesman said: "We absolutely sympathise with them, it's obviously very unfortunate that they've had that experience.