Thousands of people bring their own hot drinks to the tournament every year because those sold inside the All England Club are prohibitively expensive - £2.10 for a cup of tea and £2.30 for a coffee.
But spectators this year are being prevented from bringing flasks into the grounds by G4S guards at the gates, with angry fans reporting that they had to choose between paying £5 for left luggage facilities or watch them being thrown away.
One guard reportedly told a would-be flask-bearer that the rules, first brought in last year, were now being rigorously enforced in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three and injured 176.
Those attacks, on 15 April, saw a pressure cooker used as an explosive device, and it has been claimed that vacuum flasks could potentially be used to similar effect.
Guards also reportedly said the flasks could be used as “weapons” or thrown at players – though there are no rules preventing fans bringing in bottles of wine, full cans or hard plastic water bottles.
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