Snap in soldiers' crackers goes pop due to Army regulations

Hundreds of Christmas crackers due to be sent to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan had to be defused after it was discovered they were classed as explosives.

The British Forces Post Office website defines Christmas cracker snaps as explosives, banned on RAF aircraft. There are no such rules for passenger aeroplanes.

Major Iain Dalziel-Job, 60, of the Scots Guards Association, learned of the regulation as he prepared to send 650 Christmas parcels to the soldiers.



He said: "Every cracker has got to have the snap taken out of it because the RAF won't fly them with the bit still in.

"It's quite tricky to get them out. It took us two hours to go through them all. The soldiers will just have to go 'bang' themselves when they pull them."

A Ministry of Defence spokesman told the newspaper: "The safety of our aircraft and personnel is paramount. Large numbers of Christmas crackers are classified as dangerous air cargo and therefore require special handling."