Four admit affray after Heathrow Terminal 3 CS spray attack

Four men have admitted affray after 21 people were sprayed with a noxious substance prompting an armed response at Heathrow Airport.

CS spray was used in the assault on 7 December in a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 which left five of those assaulted needing further hospital treatment.

Tyrone Richards, 31, Anton Clarke-Butcher, 25, Omoneke Whyte, 30, and Denzel Eduardo, 28, pleaded guilty to the offences at Isleworth Crown Court.

At the hearing prosecutor Mark Trafford KC: “In the course of this affray, it is accepted by these defendants that CS gas was used and discharged in and outside of the airport, as a result of which two suitcases were taken from the complainants.”

CS spray is a man-made chemical used by UK police to incapacitate people, similar to pepper spray.

The UK Health Security Agency says it can cause burning in the eyes, chest tightness, coughing and sneezing, and is sometimes described as tear gas.

The Metropolitan Police said armed officers were called to the scene but the incident was not treated as terrorism.

Passengers travelling to and from Heathrow faced disruption because of the attack, including delays to shuttle buses and trains.

The four men are due to be sentenced on 11 September at the same court.

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