Holidaymakers were saved from an eight-hour flight delay after a fault on their plane was fixed by a passenger.

The man was on board a Thomas Cook flight from Menorca to Glasgow when the captain announced the technical fault. Passengers were told an engineer would have to be flown out from Manchester to fix the problem, taking up to eight hours.

It was then that the passenger identified himself to cabin staff as a qualified engineer and offered to help. He managed to resolve the problem and the plane took off, landing in Glasgow 35 minutes late.

A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said the company checked the man's licence and ensure he was qualified to work on the Boeing 757-200. Holidaymaker Keith Lomax, 62, from Stirling, said the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, got a round of applause when he got back on the plane.

"If he hadn't managed to fix the problem we could have been delayed for six to eight hours and there were a lot of young families on board so he was the hero," he said. The spokeswoman said: "We are very grateful to the man as it meant the delay was very short when it could have been a lot longer."

Whatever next? Remember to pack passport, tickets, money, gaffer tape, araldite...

No... I said a three eighths not a half inch...

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