A MAN who sparked a terror alert at Gatwick Airport in the wake of the Paris attacks has walked free from court.

Jerome Chauris, 41, was cleared of possessing an air rifle and a lock knife at the West Sussex airport following a trial which ended this week at Hove Crown Court, Sussex Police confirmed.

The alert caused £1.2 million of disruption after thousands of passengers had to be evacuated until the area was given the all-clear by bomb squad officers.

Mr Chauris, from Vendome, central France, was detained at the airport's North Terminal last November amid increased security at British ports following the Paris attacks that claimed 130 lives.