Add English accents to the list of things that make an American lose control of his bowels, or at least break out the heavy guns, as was learned by five Brits who were held at gunpoint by police for 90 minutes last Sunday after a spooked tour bus supervisor decided they looked "suspicious."

According to an NYPD spokesman, a supervisor from Gray Line buses approached a police captain and told him five men on one of his buses must be terrorists because they were "South Asian-looking," had backpacks and, most curiously, bought tickets for the tour in advance.

Police cordoned off a block of Broadway, surrounded the bus with snipers and lawmen and had everyone put their hands in the air and get off the bus. They also entered a nearby McDonald's and told staff to "evacuate the building and run."

The five Brits kneeled on the sidewalk, hands cuffed, while police rifled through everyone's things. The five, it turned out, had no backpacks to search.

In response to the incident, Mayor Bloomberg has asked citizens to "exercise common sense."

» Scott Saxon