“I just wanted to see Rome,” is what the 11-year old boy is reported to have said when he was discovered alone and without a passport or ticket on a Jet2 plane from Manchester to Rome on 24 July.

The story goes that after an argument with his parents, he left home went to the airport in Manchester, got through immigration, security and boarding checks and took his seat on the plane to Rome.

Apparently it was only when he started to feel airsick and called for help that the little stow-away was discovered.

How did it happen? It is thought that he mixed with another large group of similar-age children to dodge check after check at the airport.

According to the BBC, several people at Manchester airport have now been suspended and an enquiry has been setup to find out what happened.

Liam’s odyssey took place at a time when the UK is on high security alert for the Olympic Games which kick off today with the first women’s football match at Cardiff.