Security officers at Los Angeles Airport have confiscated a gun in a security scare - from a plastic toy soldier.
The two-inch weapon belonged to a GI Joe toy - similar to an Action Man.
A British tourist told how over-zealous security staff confiscated the two-inch-long plastic rifle from a GI Joe toy soldier she was taking home as a gift for her grandson.
Judy Powell, 55, bought the doll in Las Vegas as a gift for George, seven, and packed it in her hand luggage.
Stunned
But when she passed the bag through an X-ray machine at Los Angeles International Airport, security staff spotted the tiny replica Armalite rifle.
Mrs Powell, from Walton on the Hill, Surrey, said: "I was simply stunned when I realised they were serious."
Security "examined the toy as if it was going to shoot them and looked at the rifle", she said.
They then told her that if she wanted GI Joe to keep his rifle, she would have to check in again and put the toy in her suitcase so it could go in the aircraft's hold.
Lunacy
Eventually, she agreed. Mrs Powell added: "I was really angry to start with because of the absurdity of the situation. But then I saw the funny side of it and thought this was simple lunacy."
A spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport said: "We have instructions to confiscate anything that looks like a weapon or a replica.
"If GI Joe was carrying a replica then it had to be taken from him."
If you don't have the time to do something right, where are you going to find the time to fix it?
-Stephen King
