Lichfield, Staffs - Armed anti-terror cops swooped on a motorway coach this morning following reports of noxious fumes wafting from a passenger's luggage.
An emergency 999 call from a London-bound Megabus claimed someone had 'poured hot water into a bag' sparking hysteria of an airplane-style 'liquid nitrogen bomb'.
Fifty heavily armed terrorism specialists evacuated the bus from the M6 toll motorway in what early media reports described as a frightening plot.
Half an hour later the major terror incident turned out to be nothing more sinister than a tomato-flavoured pot noodle - which a passenger activated with some hot water from a thermos flask.
"The West Midlands Anti-Terror unit's completely gone to pot!" is how one disgruntled passenger put it in a tweet at lunchtime as news of the offending snack-alert spread.
The hungry owner of the fast food item was seen 'shackled and cuffed' sitting on the motorway hard shoulder complaining loudly about 'human frights'.
A Home Office spokesman has declined to comment.
