SPLENDOUR in the Grass headliner Lily Allen has landed federal police officers in hot water after tweeting a photo of herself being handcuffed at Coolangatta Airport.

The “joke” image shows the controversial British singer on her knees as a uniformed police officer appears to place her in handcuffs.

“It appears the members involved were caught up in the moment and standard protocols were breached,” an Australian Federal Police spokesman said last night.

Allen flew into the Gold Coast at 1.20pm yesterday on a Qantas flight before travelling to the festival site at Yelgni, in northern NSW.

The image has been retweeted by people around the world since it was first posted on Allen’s account, which has more than 4.7 million followers.

The AFP spokesman confirmed the airport incident was “now subject to an internal process”.

“At her request, the AFP members involved placed open handcuffs on Ms Allen for a photo opportunity,” the spokesman said.

The picture has since been removed.