© Nick Coole Airport staff were astonished to discover the couple's pet cat in their suitcase A couple heading off on holiday were stopped at airport security for accidentally packing their pet cat in their hand luggage.

Nick and Voirrey Coole were astonished to find that Candy had managed to sneak into their suitcase while they were packing for a 40th birthday trip to New York.

The pair were ushered into a side room and questioned about the surprising discovery before airport staff organised for the curious cat to be picked up and taken home so the couple could get their flight.

Nick, from the Isle of Man, told the MEN that Candy is always looking for bags, boxes and tight spaces to hide in.

© Nick Coole Candy caused quite a scene when she showed up in the couple's hand luggage

"Our hand luggage didn’t have much in so we could bring shopping home," Nick said. "But Candy, our cat, found a way in and off to the airport we all went.

"Airport security were all very puzzled and repeatedly asked if the bag was ours after it had been through the scanner."

After being taken into a side room, Nick says his wife guessed it could have been one of their three cats that had secretly decided to join them - and she was right.

The couple said staff at the Isle of Man airport were "awesome" and laughed with them once they realised it was an honest mistake.

Luckily, Candy was later picked up by friends and Nick and Voirrey still managed to catch their flight to the US in time.

Nick shared photos of Candy's trip to the airport on his Facebook page, which have been shared hundreds of times.