STEEL worker Stephen Robinson, who brought terror to passengers on a holiday flight, was yesterday jailed for 12 months.

The 53-year-old from Darlington clambered over terrified holidaymakers, tried to pay for drinks with a storecard, lashed out at a steward and lit up a cigarette.

Sentencing him yesterday at Newcastle Crown Court, Mr Recorder Brian Foster said: "The court has a duty to protect people and ensure this type of behaviour does not happen in the future."

He also referred to a pre-sentence report which said Robinson did not believe he had done anything wrong.

But one holidaymaker on the flight said in the report: "I have never witnessed any behaviour like this before when I have flown. I hope I would never see it again."

Another recalled: "An elderly lady was visibly upset and trembling, with tears in her eyes."

As a result of his air rage, the packed Boeing 757 flight from Antalya, in Turkey, to Newcastle, on March 21, last year, was diverted to Frankfurt, in Germany, where he was removed from the plane.

Tim Parkin, prosecuting, told the court that Robinson boarded the Thomas Cook flight after a week-long holiday in Turkey, but quickly became unsettled after his House of Fraser storecard was not accepted to buy drinks.

He then started clambering over his fellow passengers and walking up and down the aisles, began swearing and threw an empty drinks carton at a steward.

After being told to put out his cigarette by cabin staff, he became increasingly aggressive and "behaved in a violent and terrifying fashion", lashing out at steward Philip Miles, who needed £1,500 worth of dental treatment.

"This was a holiday flight, so there was families on board and there was also people who had never flown before, who found the whole experience utterly terrifying," said Mr Parkin.

The court heard how the defendant was eventually restrained and handcuffed.

"The measure of the violence quite clearly was such that trained members of staff were not able to restrain him and it required the assistance of the passengers as well," said Mr Parkin.

Robinson was released in Frankfurt with no money and was forced to spend two days in the airport eating leftovers before he was able to get a flight home.

He was later arrested by Northumbria Police.

Robinson, of Hope Town Lane, Darlington, admitted endangering the safety of an aircraft and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Kristian Mills, mitigating, said Robinson, who was on medication, had flown numerous times before and since the incident and had never had any problems.

The court heard how the courts have no powers to ban rowdy passengers from future flights.

But Robinson has been blacklisted by Thomas Cook and other airlines could take a similar course.

Chief Superintendent Neil Mackay, head of the operations department at Northumbria Police, said his force was pleased with the sentence. "It must have been a frightening incident for everyone on board," he said.

"We are pleased the court has seen fit to impose a custodial sentence. We hope this will send a clear message to other travellers that this sort of extreme behaviour will not be tolerated by Northumbria Police and the courts will take effective action against such offenders.''

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: ''We operate a zero tolerance policy towards disruption and aggressive behaviour on board our aircraft. We are pleased with today's verdict and Thomas Cook will always look to press charges against such behaviour.