Kitten was found in hand luggage

A kitten was seized by airport staff in Newcastle after a British woman carried it as hand luggage from Iran.

At a time when airports are on an increased security alert, it emerged the four-week-old kitten had journeyed to Tyneside from Tehran via Amsterdam.

Airline KLM said the kitten had passed through an x-ray scanner, but Dutch security staff may not have known about the UK's strict quarantine laws.

The unidentified woman said she was unaware she had done anything wrong.