Petanque player's boules seized by airport security after being mistaken for a BOMB

A veteran petanque player lost out on his chance of international victory after his boules were mistaken for a BOMB by airport security.

Keith Boleat was heading to Denmark to take part in the European Veterans Triples when his suitcase containing his treasured set of three personalised metal balls along with his team kit, phone charger and lead was seized.

The 63-year-old was forced to borrow another set for the first half of the competition in Copenhagen and said the disaster affected his performance, meaning his team finished right towards the bottom of the table.

Retired plumber Keith was en route to the competition when his bag was confiscated as he flew from Jersey to Gatwick.

The team then flew direct from the London airport to Copenhagen but his bag was put on another flight to Amsterdam before being flown to the Danish capital, meaning he had to play half of the three-day competition with borrowed boules.

MOST POPULAR ON YAHOO UK TODAY:

Donald Trump is a ‘malignant narcissist, a sociopath and a racist’ says UN special adviser
Mysterious spike in radioactivity over Europe ‘could come from Russia’
Crying toddler forced to stand on bus because of a CAT in a pram taking up the last space
Can you pass the three questions in the world’s quickest IQ test?
30 pictures taken inside North Korea using a mobile phone

He said: “All the boules have different weights and diameters so they roll in different directions. Obviously I’m used to the weight of my own boules.

“The ones I borrowed had stripes, which affects the grip and the way the boules land.”

He even had to borrow trousers and a shirt when an umpire refused to let him play in the jeans he had travelled in and said the whole mix-up badly affected his performance.

His highly-fancied team from the Jersey Petanque Association finished 21st out of 25 overall.

“I definitely felt I played better after I got my own boules back”, Keith added. “We finished 2nd in the Nations Cup, the following knockout event.”

Keith, who flew with wife Rosie, 60, said he saw the funny side and “just laughed” when he found out his boules had been mistaken for a bomb.

“So did everyone else,” he said. “There were 25 different countries there and they all found it funny.”

Team manager Steve Foster said: “I’m not aware of anything like this ever happening before and the reaction from people at the competition was one of amusement.

“I think the organisers found it quite funny. It was obviously unsettling for Keith though as he had to play with borrowed boules.”