Bristol Airport security confiscate toothpaste, misses gun cartridges
13.03.09
Passenger George Thomas had toothpaste and aftershave confiscated after attempting to take them on board a flight from Bristol Airport to Inverness. The sensitive X-ray machine at Bristol detected something untoward in his hand baggage and a search uncovered the banned toiletries. This would make us all feel a little more secure during these dangerous times, were it not for the fact that the machine missed the live shotgun cartridges George had in his jacket pocket, which was also scanned.
The incident happened when four staff at green consultancy Carbon Managers left Bristol Airport for a tree-planting trip in Scotland. George, 19 and an account manager, had toothpaste and aftershave taken by the security guard, but only realised when he reached Inverness that a handful of undetected live rounds were in his coat.
Geremy Thomas, George's father and a director of the company, which helps businesses become carbon neutral, said he could not believe the security had picked out his son's toothpaste but overlooked the live cartridges.
Mr Thomas said ‘We only had hand luggage. We went through the scanner and my son George was pulled aside. His toothpaste and after shave were captured by the security guard. None of us could believe that they had confiscated his toiletries but completely missed live ammunition.’
The airport said it had no record of the incident having taken place, but said it was fully compliant with all screening regulations. ‘No ammunition is allowed on board a plane,’ a spokesman said. Perhaps they should tell the people operating their security scanners.
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