Man arrested after handgun found on Ryanair flight

A man has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling a firearm into Britain on a Ryanair flight.

The man, 39, from Blackpool, was detained at the town's airport yesterday afternoon after officers found a blank firing gun and ammunition in his luggage.

Lancashire Constabulary went to meet the flight from Gerona, Spain, following an anonymous tip-off to security staff.

A police spokesman emphasised that the man was not believed to be a terrorist and was not thought to have smuggled the weapon for anyone else.

"The man has been questioned by officers and released on police bail pending further enquiries," he said.

"At this stage officers are not treating the incident as terrorist related, nor do we believe the gun was intended to be passed on to anyone else."

A spokeswoman for Ryanair said the handgun was found in the man's hold luggage.

She added that Ryanair is co-operating fully with the police investigation.