A BOLTON man was stranded for hours on the runway at Manchester Airport after the pilot decided it was too dangerous to land at Heathrow.

Philip Hinchcliffe, of Smithills, and other passengers on the flight from Johannesburg were told they could not leave the plane after it reached the North-west at 7am.

At 9am they were told it was likely they would have to return to Heathrow when the weather improved.

Mr Hinchcliffe, speaking on his mobile telephone, said: "We set off from Johannesburg at 9pm last night and were due to land at Heathrow at 6am today.

"We tried to land at Heathrow but the turbulence was terrible. The pilot decided it was not safe enough to land.

"We have now been told we will probably have to return to Heathrow. It is frustrating being so close to home, but there are a lot of other people on the plane and it's just one of those things."