"Scottish airport worker a cult hero"

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Airport worker a cult hero
By John Rolfe
Australia - The Courier Mail


THE man who wrestled a flaming terror suspect to the ground in the attack on
Glasgow Airport is being hailed as a cult hero around the world.

John Smeaton,  a 31-year-old British Airport Authority worker, vowed that
should terrorists come to Glasgow again "we'll set about ya". 

A website praising him - johnsmeaton.com - has now had more than 500,000
hits. 

As a result there are more than 1000 pints waiting for Smeaton behind the
bar of a watering hole near where he works. 

He's also been photoshopped as Superman, Bruce Willis's character in the Die
Hard films and Agent Jack Bauer from the hit TV series, 24. 

There is even a spoof trailer for a movie about Smeaton, 31, who was simply
taking a cigarette break when the burning Jeep Cherokee smashed into the
front doors of Glasgow Airport's Terminal One. 

Smeaton and other bystanders intervened when a policeman was attacked by one
of the men in the car. 

"He went straight for the officer and started to attack him," Smeaton said.
"I thought, 'You're not hitting the police mate, there's no chance.' We all
tried to get a boot in at him and just try to subdue the guy." 

Smeaton has not spoken to the media since the immediate aftermath of the
attacks and details of his account could not be independently confirmed. 

Another reads: "A braveheart for a modern Scotland that treats terrorism
with a stiff right hook rather than a stiff upper lip."

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