Thomas Cook clients returning home from an Italian half term ski break were delayed after fuel leaked from a wing just minutes after take-off.
The Boeing 757 had just left Turin’s Caselle airport and was heading for Birmingham when both the pilot and passengers saw fuel spurting out of the right hand wing.
Ground staff has also spotted the dramatic sight and fire engines were lined up on the tarmac ready to assist.
The pilot kept the plane flying until it was light enough to safely land back in Caselle where passengers were put up overnight while an engineer was flown in to deal with the fault. Passengers have now been flown home to Birmingham.
