Man charged over Heathrow security alert

A man who caused a major security alert at Heathrow Airport after getting onto a runway was charged on Friday with "aircraft endangerment", police said.

Ketheeswaran Uthayakumar, 27, of no fixed address, will face a further charge of illegally being airside when he appears at Uxbridge Magistrates Court, west London, on Saturday.

He was arrested near the northern runway of the world's busiest international airport on Thursday after scaling the perimeter fence.

Police said the incident was not related to terrorism, but have declined to comment on possible motives.

Officers blew up the man's bag in a controlled explosion, but later said they found no bomb. Some flights were delayed.

It was the second major security breach at the airport in less than a month and came the day before the Queen opened the airport's new fifth terminal.

Last month, protesters opposing the Heathrow expansion plans breached the airport's security to unveil a banner on top of a parked passenger jet.