LONDON (Reuters) - Planes were grounded for a few minutes at Heathrow on Wednesday evening after a BBC crew filming a reconstruction of fighting between British and Arabs sparked a security scare, air traffic control said on Friday.The scene was part of a program about Britain's running of Palestine in the 20th century, and an Arab firing shots -- actually an actor shooting blanks -- under Heathrow's flight path prompted a passer-by to call the police.
"A vigilant member of the public said she'd heard machine-gun fire, so we sent 12 officers and a police helicopter to the scene," a police spokeswoman said.
"A man dressed as an Arab was prancing about with a prop gun. There is a danger if you get dressed up and play with guns and don't tell us first."
The site is some three miles west of Heathrow. A BBC spokeswoman said police weren't informed because it was frequently used as a filming venue.
"With the security situation as it is, we probably should have told them anyway," she added. "We apologize if any of the residents were unnecessarily concerned."
