ENGLAND star Kieron Dyer had to hire a private jet to get to training at Newcastle after missing his flight.

The player, who was with team-mate Titus Bramble, had to pay £3,000 for the 300-mile trip from Stansted, in Essex, to Tyneside.

The pair took the step because they were late for a crucial work-out.

Stansted customer services manager Daren Irvin said he had not recognised the footballers at first, until they were pointed out to him by a policeman.

"Dyer and Bramble were stood there, getting more and more agitated after missing the early easyJet flight up to Newcastle one Saturday morning," he said.

"They had to be back up in the North-East for a tough training session at 2pm that afternoon.

"They had a crucial Premier League game the next day at Bolton.

"Dyer said to me 'We've just got to get there or our lives won't be worth living. The gaffer will go mad if we're late - he'll kill us'."

Mr Irvin said £6m midfielder Dyer even suggested hiring a helicopter for the journey.

"He thought it could take him and Bramble straight to the training pitch.

"But then he added that Sir Bobby wouldn't have been very happy seeing the two of them clambering out of a whirring chopper as he was trying to coach the rest of the Newcastle squad."

Mr Irvin came to the stars' rescue - thanks to his brother Mike, who works for Harrods Aviation.

He said: "I talked to him and he told me they had a little private plane at the airport.

"It was a mad last-minute dash to get the crew together, but amazingly we managed it."

Mr Irvin hustled Dyer and £5m centre-back Bramble through the business terminal at Stansted as time ticked by on March 27.

He said: "The lads made it just in time. Kieron rang me on my mobile to thank me and offer me tickets for any future matches."