The aircraft, filled with guests bound for Liza Minnelli's wedding, was taxiing down the runway at Heathrow airport when a computer glitch caused the engine to accelerate too quickly.

The plane was only going at about 30mph when the captain decided to abort the take-off

BA Spokesman

Captain Paul Douglas noticed the problem and abandoned take-off.

Among the famous passengers on board the New York-bound flight was chat show host Graham Norton.

The supersonic aircraft also contained revellers journeying to New York's St Patrick's Day Parade.

Second problem

This was the second time that a BA Concorde has had this type of problem since the aircraft went back into service in November 2001.

Many were travelling to Liza Minnelli's wedding

The supersonic jet went out of commission to undergo extensive modifications in the wake of the Air France Concorde crash in July 2000 which left 113 people dead.

"The problem today had nothing to do with any of the modification work and the plane was only going at about 30mph when the captain decided to abort the take-off," said a BA spokesman.

The plane was withdrawn from service and is being examined by BA engineers.

Its passengers were later transferred to another Concorde, which flew them to New York four hours behind schedule.