A MOTHER has spoken of her anger at being stranded in Tenerife with her two children for five days - while her husband was allowed on the plane home.

Victoria Barton, of Stanley, County Durham, said she was told she could not take her Spanair flight home from Tenerife Airport with her children because she was late - even though she turned up more than an hour before take-off.

She then had to pay £55 for herself and her six-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter to fly to Teesside Airport five days later.

The problem was caused by the fact that the amount of fuel put in the plane prior to take-off used up the plane's maximum weight allowance.

In the interests of safety, only one member of the family was allowed on the flight in order for it to remain under the permitted weight.

Mrs Barton's husband, Philip, elected to board so he could get to work.

Spanair maintains the problem was ultimately caused by the late arrival of the family, caused by a puncture to their car tyre.

Mrs Barton vehemently denies that she arrived at the airport any later than 5pm for the 6.05pm flight on Friday, October 13.

She said: "As it turned out I have family in Tenerife so we could survive.

"When I think what could have happened if it was a single mother or a young girl on her own it sends me cold."

A spokesman for Spanair said: "Our concern is to do our utmost to accommodate our clients, but these steps were taken to ensure safety on board."

A spokeswoman for travel agents Airtours, the company through which the Bartons booked the flight, claimed the family arrived just 45 minutes before take-off.

She said that the family could have taken flights in the following few days, destined for different parts of Britain.