An international airport which was forced to close when a warplane overshot the runway has reopened to flights.
Nobody was hurt when an RAF Tornado made an emergency landing at Newcastle International Airport at 4.55pm on Monday.
The two crew members were checked out by medics following the incident which happened when their aircraft was diverted to the airport after suffering a birdstrike while in the air.
The Tornado GR4 plane, from 13 Squadron at RAF Marham, in Norfolk, was in the process of landing when it failed to stop.
An airport spokeswoman said it was unclear if the earlier birdstrike affected the plane's ability to stop.
She said the aircraft came to rest on the grass at the far end of the runway near Dinnington Road.
This road was closed as a precaution but the plane was not carrying explosives and by 6.15pm officials confirmed it posed no hazard to the public.
With the runway closed, incoming flights had to be diverted to Durham Tees Valley or Manchester airports for a period of about two hours.
The airport reopened later and the spokeswoman said staff were working to help clear the backlog in the terminal.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "A Tornado GR4 from 13 Squadron RAF Marham made an emergency landing at Newcastle Airport ... Nobody was injured in the incident and the RAF will recover the aircraft as soon as possible."
