BBC reporter Colette Hume boards plane with aerosol can

A BBC reporter has accidentally boarded a flight from Sydney to the US, with a 200ml aerosol tin at the bottom of her bag.

That is despite increased security measures for travellers to the US, following an alleged attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day.

Colette Hume's cabin bag was first scanned after she checked in at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport for the QF107 flight to LA and New York on Monday morning.

Her hand luggage was X-rayed along with her coat and camera bag, while she walked through a scanner.

Just over an hour after that first security check the departure gate opened.

Passengers on her flight were asked to arrive at the gate early, to undergo a second tier of enhanced security now required by the US authorities.

As a security officer looked through her belongings, she was "patted down" by a female officer - she was also asked to remove my shoes, which were examined, but the pair of boots she had put in the bag to wear in New York were not.

The whole search took around 90 seconds, yet once again the spray was missed.