Re-trial for airport trespass woman

Sarah Johnson was held in Philadelphia

A hairdresser convicted of breaching security at a United States airport, has been granted a new trial.

On Wednesday, Sarah Johnson, of Friar Park, Wednesbury, West Midlands, was fined $500 (£325) at the hearing at Philadelphia's Municipal Court.

She was arrested after running through a restricted area at the city's airport in February while boarding a flight to Puerto Rico, where she was due to start work as a hairdresser on a cruise liner.

On Friday, Johnson, 22, who claims she was "waived through" by security staff, won the right to a new trial on the same charge, but at a different court.

'Jury trial'

Johnson's attorney, John Elbert, said he was confident her name would be cleared.

"The lower court conviction has been erased and Sarah has elected to take a jury trial," he said.

Johnson had flown to Philadelphia from Gatwick airport for the connecting flight and claimed she did nothing wrong and was waved through departure gates by security staff.

She was later strip-searched, handcuffed and held for 30 hours by US officials investigating the incident.