Brit dad faces £500,000 fine after Spanish cops nicked him and his kids for using laser pens
Edward Napp is now on bail at home in Essex and denies targeting planes
A BRIT dad faces a fine of half a million pounds after Spanish cops nicked him and his kids for using laser pens.
Edward Napp, 46, was held with his two children after a cop saw green beams flashing from their hotel room in Torremolinos.
Three pilots landing planes at nearby Malaga airport complained of being targeted with lasers.
Police accused the family of being responsible with the £13.50 pens bought days earlier.
Mr Napp, who runs his own airfield with seven planes in Essex, was detained with his eldest child, who is 15.
And he was horrified to learn he faced charges for an air safety offence of endangering aircraft, with a penalty ranging from £27,000 to £540,000.
Now on bail back in Chelmsford, Mr Napp, insisted they did not target planes.
MOST READ IN NEWS
He said: “We were messing around, seeing how far the lights shone. But we didn’t shine them at any aeroplanes.
"If they fine me that much, I wouldn’t be able to pay it.
“I don’t have half a million quid lying about. If I did I wouldn’t be holidaying in Spain.”
The planes landing at Malaga were carrying hundreds of Costa del Sol holidaymakers.
A Spanish police source said: “It was a reckless prank that could have had very serious consequences.
“It was a foolhardy thing to do and is being taken very seriously.”