A drunken yob who forced a plane to make an emergency landing after becoming embroiled in a mid-air scrap has been jailed.

Ross Jameson caused pilots of the packed holiday jet to make an emergency landing soon after taking off from Newcastle Airport to fly to Alicante in Spain.

The Easyjet flight 6423 was diverted to London, Gatwick after a row broke out on board during the flight in May.

Upon touching down in London former boxing champion Jameson, 23, and his girlfriend Jordan Summersgilll were both arrested.

Jameson pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly on an aircraft and interfering with the performance of the duties of a member of the crew.

Appearing in Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex on Friday, Jameson of Lawson Close, Middlesbrough, was jailed for six months.

The incident caused delays to many excited holidaymaker, in Alicante hundreds of tourists were waiting for the arrival of the plan which was due to make a return trip to Newcaslte at 11pm on Tuesday May 15 but had to wait until almost 2am to board.

Youth worker Jaqui Nicholson, 35, from Wallsend, said: "Our flight was initially delayed for 40 minutes but when we went to the gate we found out we were going to have to wait much longer.

"When the plane did finally arrive at around 1am the passengers were coming into the building just yards from where we were so we were asking them what had happened.

"They said there had been a scrap on board so the plane had to divert to Gatwick."

Summersgill, of Fawcett Avenue, Middlesbrough, appeared before Mid-Sussex Magistrates Court on May 31 and pleaded guilty to being drunk on an aircraft.

She was fined £1,000 and magistrates also ordered her to pay £100 in costs. Jameson, who was national novices amateur champion in 2007, was originally charged with the more serious offence of recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or persons on a plane.

But the prosecution offered no evidence on this offence and he admitted the two lesser charges.