Police stop man at Preston railway station after his umbrella is mistaken for samurai sword

A man was stopped by police at Preston railway station after his novelty umbrella was mistaken for a deadly samurai sword.
By Matthew Calderbank
Published 24th Nov 2021, 08:41 GMT
Updated 24th Nov 2021, 14:13 GMT
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British Transport Police confronted the man after worried passengers reported seeing a sword sticking out of his backpack on Monday (November 22).

But when officers investigated, they found the 'sword' was in fact a harmless novelty brolly.

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Due to the 'heightened terrorism alert status', police said they gave the man 'words of advice' about how he carries his umbrella in public, to avoid causing further alarm.

Some passengers were alarmed when they spotted a man with what they believed to be a samurai sword sticking out of his backpack at Preston railway station, but the 'deadly weapon' turned out to be a novelty umbrellaSome passengers were alarmed when they spotted a man with what they believed to be a samurai sword sticking out of his backpack at Preston railway station, but the 'deadly weapon' turned out to be a novelty umbrella
Some passengers were alarmed when they spotted a man with what they believed to be a samurai sword sticking out of his backpack at Preston railway station, but the 'deadly weapon' turned out to be a novelty umbrella

The novelty brollys are widely available online, including on Amazon.

One advert says: "Bring out your inner hero with the Samurai Umbrella! Comes complete with a nylon scabbard and adjustable shoulder strap so you can wear it over your back!"

A police spokesman said: "With the heightened terrorism alert status, we received a report of an male at Preston station with what appeared to be a Samurai sword sticking out of his backpack.

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"We located the person and gave him words of advice about how he displayed/carried his umbrella, especially in busy areas."

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