Gatwick security scare after woman packed very old hand grenade in her suitcase

'It was an incredibly daft thing to try to take on a plane.'

A passenger who packed an antique hand grenade into her hand luggage at Gatwick Airport caused a bomb scare.

The bomb squad officers were called to the airport on Sunday evening after the grenade was detected when it went through the scanners.

The French woman was travelling with her family before she was questioned by the bomb squad at security.

It is thought that she bought the antique hand grenade at a shop while she was staying in the UK, according to The Sun.

The flight was not delayed because of the scare.

A source told the newspaper: ‘No one was harmed and it’s reassuring to have seen emergency services swoop into action so quickly.

‘But it was an incredibly daft thing to try to take on a plane.’

A London Gatwick Airport spokesperson told Metro.co.uk: ‘Sunday evening (7 July) a security investigation took place in one of the airport’s baggage processing facilities.

‘The investigation concluded with no threat detected.’

A spokesperson for Sussex Police said: ‘Police were called to London Gatwick at around 8pm on Sunday after a prohibited item was found in an item of luggage.

‘Officers responded swiftly and the relevant processes were followed in conjunction with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, and subsequently no threat was detected.

‘The owner of the luggage was interviewed and, following further enquiries and liaison with relevant agencies, was issued with a conditional caution.’

Meanwhile people have been trapped overnight at Heathrow after dozens of flights were cancelled thanks to storms in the Atlantic Ocean.

There were also 125 flights cancelled on Sunday into Monday which impacted around 10,000 passengers travelling on easyJet and British Airways flights.

Passengers travelling to destinations like Lanzarote, Budapest, Venice, Belfast, Edinburgh, Rome, Naples, Barcelona and Larnaca have been impacted.

Ryanair also issued a statement in relation to the disruption and said: ‘ATC services, which have had the benefit of no French ATC strike disruption this summer, continue to underperform with repeated ‘staff shortages’.

‘We apologise to our passengers for these repeated ATC flight delays which are deeply regrettable but beyond Ryanair’s control.’

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