UK plane diverted after 'bomb' note

British tourists endured a terrifying diversion of their holiday flight after the captain told them a note had been found saying there was a bomb on the plane.

The Boeing 767 operated by Sussex-based charter carrier Excel Airways landed safely at Brindisi airport in southern Italy.

The 269 passengers safely disembarked and a search of the plane had not found anything by late afternoon.

Passengers on the plane, which had left Gatwick bound for Hurghada in Egypt at 11.45am, told of how a woman passenger had found a note written on a sickbag.

Silvestro Auriemma, who is fluent in both Italian and English, was sitting behind the woman and said the note said there was a bomb on the plane.

This note had then been seen by a number of passengers before being passed to cabin staff who passed it on to cockpit crew.

The captain had then decided to tell all passengers of the content of the note and announced the plane was being diverted.

The aircraft was escorted by an Italian air force F16 fighter aircraft and landed at Brindisi at 2.45pm UK time.

Speaking from Brindisi terminal building to BBC New 24, Mr Auriemma said he had been asked to interpret for Italian police when they interviewed the woman.

He added: "The woman was pretty calm but after the captain made the announcement about the bomb there were children crying and people were very shaken up. We were evacuated from the plane as soon as possible and we are in the terminal. Forensic teams are going through the plane."