Two charged after pepper spray and robbery incident at Heathrow

Two men have been charged with robbery and administering a noxious substance after more than 20 people were affected by pepper spray at Heathrow Airport.

Tyrone Richards, 31, of no fixed address and Anton Clarke-Butcher, 24, of Lambeth, south London, are due to appear at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

HM courts and tribunal service staff confirmed that they are each charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of administering a noxious substance.

Ambulance crews treated 21 people, including a three-year-old child, who had been hit with the noxious spray in a multi-storey car park at Terminal 3 on Sunday.

Five people were taken to hospital, all of whom have since been discharged.

Before the spray was used, two women were robbed of their suitcases after they got out of the car park lift, police said.

The men who robbed them sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray, which then affected others nearby.

Three other people have been arrested over the incident, two women aged 23 and 57 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit robbery and a 31-year-old man on suspicion of affray.

The 23-year-old was released on bail, the 57-year-old released under investigation and the man remains in custody, the Metropolitan Police said.