The Pride of Scotland: Have-a-go hero Smeaton reveals his boot'n'banjo anti-terrorism tactics

"This is Glasgow. We'll just set aboot ye." It might lack the rhetorical flourish of one of Osama bin Laden's notorious videos, but the words of baggage handler John Smeaton, one of several have-a-go-heroes who helped police subdue the two would-be suicide bombers at Glasgow airport on Saturday, captured the world's imagination, and spawned a quite remarkable Nae Messin' website at johnsmeaton.com.

He explained what he did, thus: "I seen a man get out of the passenger side of the vehicle. The man attacked a policeman. I thought, that's not right. I ran over to assist. Other members of the public did the same.

"I got a kick in. Other passengers were getting kicks in. The flames were going in two directions. You know when you're younger, you put a can of Lynx on the fire and it's like a flamethrower? Me and the other folk were just trying to get the boot in and some other guy banjoed him."

The efforts of cab driver Alex McIlveen, 45, were captured in the Daily Record with the surely unbeatable front-page headline: "I kicked burning terrorist so hard in balls that I tore tendon in my foot".

He told the paper: "The guy in the passenger seat got out and ... kicked and punched a man to the ground before punching a policeman square in the face. That sort of thing just isn't on. I told my passenger to run for her life, then I went for the man and managed to skelp him in the face. I followed it up by booting him twice.

"Then the driver got out of the car. He was already in flames. It was obvious he was the real psycho of the pair. He was going crazy, just lashing out at everyone and babbling a lot of pish in a foreign language.

"I ran for the guy and punched him twice in the face with pretty good right hooks. Then I kicked him with full force right in the balls but he didn't' go down. Luckily more people joined in, and we managed to beat the guy down. I don't think the policeman I saw at the scene drew his baton during the whole thing. He should have given it to me. I would have leathered those guys with it."

Not only did he damage a tendon in his foot, but the police took away his Nike trainers for forensic examination - "They're a good pair, too," he lamented. And guess what? When he returned to pick up the car, he had a parking ticket.

Michael Kerr, 40 fared less well. He said: "I just went for the terrorist: it was basic instinct. I flew at him a few times in the face but he wouldn't go down. Then he punched me so hard he knocked out my teeth and sent me flying so hard I broke my leg.

"I landed right next to the burning Jeep and I thought it was going to explode. But the guy John Smeaton saw me lying there and dragged me to safety. He's a hero."

Smeato, we salute you. For you have sent the terrorists home to think again. And, more than that, you have put a spring into the step of proud Scots everywhere.