A toy gun measuring just three inches sparked a security alert at an airport.

Julie Lloyd, 59, was stunned when officials at Gatwick Airport seized the “weapon” when it showed up on screen as her handbag was scanned.

Mrs Lloyd, who regularly travels to Britain to see her mother, bought the plastic tiny Royal Signaller, which was holding the gun, as a present to take home to her husband Ken in Toronto.

She was told to hand it over by security officials or she would not be allowed to board the flight.

Mrs Lloyd then had to pay to post the figure 3,000 miles home.

She said: “I had it in my hand luggage. I just didn't think it would cause a problem. They said rules were rules. There was no flexibility or common sense.”

Mrs Lloyd, who emigrated with her husband in 1993, said she bought the action figure on a visit to the Royal Signals Museum in Blandford, Dorset.

Adam Forty, a spokesman from the museum, said: “This does seem more than a little excessive. The “firearm” is three inches long and cast out of resin.

“It's probably just as well that we didn't sell her a toy tank.”

A spokesman for Gatwick said it would be investigating the incident.