A model plane enthusiast and his 54-year-old wife have been revealed as the suspects arrested over the Gatwick Airport drone mayhem but his boss claims he was working and could not have been the culprit.
Forensic squads had been searching a van outside window-fitter Paul Gait, 47, and his wife Elaine Kirk's home but the probe was thrown into confusion as Mr Gait's boss John Allard vouched for him and said he was at work.
Allard, who runs a double glazing firm in Crowborough, said he could 'account for Paul's movements between the hours of 7am and 5pm last Monday to Friday'. The 47-year-old suspect had been 'part of a three-man team fitting glass doors and windows in the Crowborough area', his employer said.
The couple were arrested in Crawley, the West Sussex town where they live and which has previously been a battleground for environmental groups opposing the expansion of the airport.
The arrests come as police look into theories as to whether eco-warriors or a group of activists protesting deportations of migrants could be behind the drone mayhem. Crawley, a town with a population of just over 100,000, is just five miles away from Gatwick and under the airport's flightpath.
Activists in the town have previously declared a 'state of emergency' in the countryside to counter a proposed second runway. Around 1,000 aircraft have been cancelled or diverted amid this week's mayhem, plunging 140,000 passengers into chaos since Wednesday night.
Flights have resumed by many are operating with delays after three days of disruption, with some passengers having to abandon holidays or struggling to get home for Christmas.
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