SCORES of holidaymakers were left angry and out-of-pocket when their flight was cancelled after fighting broke out between passengers and airport staff.

About 70 travellers on the bmibaby flight to Newquay, Cornwall, were told to get off the plane and go home after the incident at Durham Tees Valley airport last weekend.

Passengers had already faced delays of more than three-and-a-half hours before being allowed to board the flight at about 10.30pm on Friday.

But no sooner were they seated for take-off than the pilot told them he was grounding the plane after one of the travellers allegedly assaulted an airport security guard.

Passenger Ben Dancey, 24, from Middlesbrough, said: "I don't understand why they needed to cancel the flight. The person who had caused this trouble had been removed by the time the pilot made the announcement.

"It just seems to me like everyone was being punished for the stupidity of one person."

Mr Dancey, who was heading to Cornwall for a weekend break, said he and his three friends had been left hundreds of pounds out-of-pocket following the incident.

He said: "It's sad for us because we'd paid out nearly £200 on a campsite, which I don't know if we'll get back, and we've missed out on our holiday.

"But there were lots of young families and even a hen party on board, and their weekend must have been completely ruined."

Security staff were called to the plane when a man became aggressive with flight attendants, following the delays and an announcement that the plane was likely to be rerouted to Cardiff.

Police were called and a 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault.

A BMI spokeswoman said: "The situation was actually becoming quite farcical as this man's behaviour was upsetting other passengers and led to another traveller suffering an angina attack. The flight was then cancelled at the discretion of the pilot."

She confirmed that all passengers would receive a full refund.

A spokeswoman for Durham Police said officers had responded to a call for help from the pilot of the plane.

The police spokeswoman said: "The captain asked for assistance to deal with passengers fighting on the tarmac."

She said a 50-year-old man, from South Wingate, Teesside, was arrested and had since been released on police bail.