A DRUNKEN airline passenger picked the wrong flight to start a row.

The New Zealand man caused chaos when he demanded a female passenger move places for him.

When she refused, he became aggressive towards her, other passengers and crew.

Unknown to him, the plane was carrying 34 members of the British Police rugby league squad, who stepped in to sort him out.

The squad, including Detective Constable Mick Kent, from Durham Police, were on board the nine-hour flight from Singapore to New Zealand for a tournament.

Crew asked the officers to intervene when the man confronted passengers.

Det Con Kent, a former soldier whose interests include weightlifting, joined two team-mates in tackling the drunken troublemaker.

The pilot was considering diverting the plane to Sydney, Australia, until the officers intervened and held the man until he calmed down.

Staff monitored the man for the rest of the flight and, on arrival in Christchurch, he was handed over to the New Zealand authorities.

Det Con Kent, who is 6ft 4in, said: "He was grabbing a passenger and it looked like he was going to assault her, so we just restrained him until he calmed down and led him to the back of the plane."