Terror farmer tale cannot be Syri-ous

SOCIAL media users - and even some newspapers - have been hoaxed by a story about a French farmer out to buy some wood who was wrongly suspected of preparing for a jihadist trip to Syria.

The spoof article claimed that anti-terror police swooped on bearded 57-year-old Raymond Cubombet, in the Aveyron, after intercepting a phone call in which he appeared to say to his wife: "Je pars pour la Syrie".

"I'd called my wife to tell her I was off to stock up on some wood - je pars pour la scierie," the made-up Mr Cubombet explained to La Dêche du Midi, a satirical site which looks similar to the real newspaper La Dépêche du Midi.

The apparent misunderstanding based on the two similar-sounding words was quickly picked up and spread online - and even ended up being published in the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir.

The original hoax was published on January 17 and was full of details including the place he was arrested, the make of car Mr Cubombet drove and a long list of suspected terror arsenal the farmer had in the boot of his car, including a saw (for the wood), a gun and bullets (for hunting) and some chemical fertilisers capable of making a bomb (or for farming).

The farmer, clearly shaken after his seven-hour interrogation, gave quotes including: "It's true I have a beard. I've been growing it for 40 years. You know, it's not warm around here in winter and the only time I shaved it off, my wife wouldn't speak to me until it grew back."

The article even included an "official" statement from anti-terror squad DGSI, which apologised for the case of mistaken identity, adding: "We're a bit stressed at the moment."

Le Soir in Belgium has since had to issue a correction saying: "Raymond Cubombet doesn't exist, was never questioned by French police and was made up by a satirical site.

"It was so well put-together that we believed it. We apologise to our readers."