Bus passengers ‘thought Scots musician’s e-cig was bomb’

A MUSICIAN has told how the crowded bus he was traveling on was evacuated - after someone mistook him for a terrorist with a bomb whilst he was changing the battery of his e-cigarette.

Chris Barron with his e-cigarette. Picture: Watchtower Media

Chris Barron was on the X77 Stagecoach service between Glasgow and Ayr at around 8.30pm on Friday night when the bus pulled over and all the passengers were ordered to get off.

Chris, of Ayr, and dozens of other passengers were left standing at the side of the M77 motorway for around an hour in driving rain and gale force winds.

The 25-year-old, who plays in bands Sigma Logic, Bellow Below and Zachariah, said: “I was rewicking my vape, and somebody thought it was a bomb.

“They informed the driver about a ‘smell’. The bus pulled over. He called the police.

“Everybody got off the bus. We stood there until the police came. The police came and looked on the bus. Me none the wiser.

“The officers then came out and asked me to step behind the bus.

“Asked me if I had any electronic devices at all which I replied ‘yes’ to.

“I showed them my unfired freshly cottoned vape.

“They laughed and shook their heads.

“Told me I hadn’t done anything wrong so not to worry about it and apologised.

“Took my name and told everybody to get back on the bus.

“I’ll say for the record these officers were sound about the whole thing so kudos to them.

“When the police were asked why they took so long to arrive they answered, ‘We had to close the entire motorway’.”

And Chris said he was surprised someone would jump to conclusions about him based on his appearance alone.

During his account of the incident, which he posted on his Facebook page, he added: “I guess the lesson to be learned here is think before you vape!”

Whilst fitting the new battery the e-cig let out a puff of vapour and another passenger, believing Chris was a possible terrorist with a bomb, alerted the driver, who called the police.

A spokeswoman for Police Scotland confirmed that officers were informed about a man “acting suspiciously” and closed the motorway while they investigated.

But the spokeswoman added that the “false alarm” had been raised “in good faith” and urged other members of the public to remain vigilant and contact the police if they had any fears over a possible terrorist attack.