A passenger jet has been forced to make an emergency landing in Manchester soon after take-off.

The British Midland (BMI) aircraft, with 138 passengers on board, had taken off from Manchester Airport at 0710 BST on Tuesday.

It was heading for Heraklion on the Greek island of Crete, but the pilot reported a problem and decided to return to the airport.

An airport spokesman confirmed the plane - flight BD8423 - had landed safely again at 0740 BST.

Flight re-scheduled

She said: "Soon after take-off the pilot reported technical problems with the flight.

"The pilot then circled overhead to burn off fuel before touching down safely again at the airport."

The passengers, which included one baby, were later taken to a departure lounge to wait for a rescheduling of their flight.

The spokeswoman confirmed at 0900 BST that BMI staff were re-arranging a new flight for them.