Website News A bagpipe player sparked a security alert at the Olympics - after Chinese police mistook his musical instrument for "some kind of weapon". Charity walker Andrew Aitken, from Galashiels, arrived in Beijing on the same day as the opening ceremony. He decided to warm-up his pipes near the stadium, not realising he was close to a major electricity station. A police car pulled up and Mr Aitken said it was only thanks to a passing tourist guide that he avoided arrest. The Borders piper was in China to carry out a sponsored walk along the Great Wall to raise funds for the National Deaf Children's Society. He was about two miles from the stadium on the opening day of the Olympics when he decided to entertain locals with some traditional Scottish tunes. However, the 37-year-old human resources manager did not realise he was standing in a sensitive location - right next to the electricity station which was providing the power for the opening ceremony. Mr Aitken said: "I'm not all that good on the pipes so I thought I'd go off on my own and have a practice before I had to play in front of the people I was doing the walk with. "I had a silly soldier's hat on and my kilt and a few locals gathered round and seemed to be enjoying me playing, but just as I finished a police car pulled up with four officers. "They weren't happy and it emerged that it was heightened security all over China because of the opening ceremony." It took the intervention of a passer-by to explain to police what the bagpipes were. "It was pure luck that a tourist guide was passing and stopped them from arresting me by explaining what bagpipes were - they thought the pipes were some kind of weapon," said Mr Aitken. He was eventually allowed to continue his sponsored walk which raised nearly £3,000. He also managed to get tickets into the Bird's Nest Stadium a few days after his security scare and watch Usain Bolt win the 100m gold medal. World Bagpipe Championship Opens GLASGOW, Scotland, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- About 8,000 bagpipers from 17 countries have assembled in Glasgow for the World Pipe Band Championship competition. The weeklong celebration of the pipes includes a wedding, The Scotsman reported. Ryan Cannon and Megan Harrington -- members of the Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band of Northern Ireland -- plan to marry Tuesday in the Glasgow University Chapel. The band has won the world championship two years running. Cannon and Harrington were brought together by a mutual passion for the pipes. While members of the other 200 or so bands in competition wish Cannon and Harrington well, they want to take the championship away from their band. "I just hope we can bring the championship back to Scotland", said Robert Mathieson, pipe major with the Edgar, Shotts and Dykehead band from Lanarkshire. Among the countries represented are Australia, Canada, France, Pakistan, the United States and Spain. World Bagpipe Championship 2009 Planning for the 2009 championships is already well underway and the locations and dates have been decided as follows: Scottish - May 16th at Dumbarton British - June 27th at Banbridge, NI European - July 25th at Inverclyde Worlds - August 15th at Glasgow Cowal - August 29th at Dunoon Please note the change of expected date for the Scottish Championships. This was at the request of West Dunbartonshire council and is one week earlier than normal. Content Ends