British Tourist Sparks Terror Scare at Airport After "Trying to Board Plane with Toy Bomb"

A British tourist was arrested after he tried to board airplane with a toy bomb and sparked a security scare, according to officials.

The man told officers he had bought the item with the intentions of taking it to a New Year's Eve party.

After initially declaring the toy, which featured a timer and imitation sticks of dynamite, at security he asked if he could take it on board the Qatar Airways flight.

But police said officers at the airport in Bali refused and he left it at the desk before proceeding to check-in with his female friend.

However after Ngurah Rai International airport's general manager, Trikora Harjo, was informed of the incident he demanded the 48-year-old should be removed from the plane and questioned further , according to the Telegraph.

The packed flight, bound for Doha, had apparently already taxied on to the runway and was preparing for take off when it was order to return to the terminal.

The British man and his friend were escorted off and he was taken in for questioning - initially by airport security officials then by police in the provincial capital Depasar today.

He was later cleared of any charges after officers were sent to the toy shop and found identical items for sale, the local media reported.

"We are releasing them now," said police chief Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan, according to the Telegraph.

"We have found no indication of suspicious reasons, he just bought a toy. But since airport authority filed a report, we had to do a follow up."

The Indonesian holiday island of Bali is on high alert for a potential terror attack after a Russian passenger plane was blown up after it left the tourist resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

An official is quoted as saying: "This was a very realistic toy and in the current climate, we wanted to know more about his plans."

In 2002 a terrorist attack in Bali killed a total of 202 people, including 28 Britons.

The al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group launched terror attacks on two Bali nightspots packed with tourists.

The man declined to speak to the media when they left the police station today.