A pilot hauled off a plane in handcuffs and accused of boozing has been cleared after the Atkins Diet was blamed for the mix-up.

Captain Antony Bonnick of Hadlow Down, near Heathfield, was escorted from the Virgin Atlantic flight minutes before he was due to take off.

The 47-year-old married father of three was breath- alysed at the scene after security staff at Heathrow claimed he had been drinking.

One terminal worker said he smelt alcohol on the £120,000-a-year pilot's breath and called police.

However, Virgin has blamed the low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet for the smell of his breath after a blood test cleared him of being above the alcohol limit.

Captain Bonnick was arrested as the Airbus 340 flight, bound for New York, sat on the tarmac at Heathrow's Terminal Three last Saturday at 9am.

His identity had been kept secret but was revealed yesterday.

More than 300 shocked passengers watched as he was pulled off the VS003 flight in handcuffs and arrested under the Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003.

The Act makes it an offence to be under the influence of alcohol while "performing an aviation function".

The flight eventually took off an hour late after a replacement pilot was found.

One airport insider said: "A member of security smelt alcohol on his breath and called the cops.

"Officers boarded at the last moment and led the pilot away in handcuffs. Another few minutes and he would have been flying across the Atlantic with hundreds of passengers."

But police have since confirmed a blood test for Captain Bonnick proved negative and he is not being charged.

The pilot, who has an impeccable record, is free to return to his duties and is expected back in the cockpit as soon as the company's flight schedule allows.

A spokeswoman for Virgin said Captain Bonnick had not had any alcohol. She told The Argus: "He has been absolutely cleared.

"The blood test results came back negative and there is no action to be taken.

"Therefore, as no offence was committed, no charges will be brought. The pilot is now able to resume his duties at the airline immediately.

"As soon as he is ready to start flying again he is welcome. He has been completely exonerated."

Captain Bonnick was unavailable for comment.

Pilots, navigators, flight engineers and cabin crew are subject to a limit of just nine microgrammes of alcohol in breath, compared with 35 microgrammes for motorists.