Fake bomb mars Edward's N. Zealand visit

DUNEDIN, New Zealand, March 18 (UPI) -- A filmmaker's prop bomb triggered a major security alert during Prince Edward's visit to a New Zealand television studio, Sky News said Thursday.

A fake timer and the phony bomb were found in a box under some stairs in the Dunedin studio. It had been packed there for more than 10 years after being using in a documentary, the report said.

"It caused a bit of a fuss when they found it, but they quickly realized it wasn't real," Taylormade Media's managing director Ian Taylor said.

The prince made light of the scare.

"It's usually people's lunches that the sniffer dogs find," he joked.

The Prince's brief visit to New Zealand was in part to observe the 150th anniversary of Wanganui Collegiate school, where he worked as a housemaster for a year.