IT'S not exactly the kind of holiday you would find in a travel brochure.

While most of us save all year for two weeks in the sun, Geoff Richardson can think of nothing better than to spend his holidays at Heathrow Airport.

Armed with his binoculars, camera and notebook, Geoff, 58, of Crook, County Durham, is in his element relaxing in an aviation lounge, plane spotting.

One of his longest spells was a week spent at Heathrow in July - while his wife, Flora, jetted off to Spain to see her sister.

Geoff, a caretaker at St Anne's High School in Wolsingham, stayed in central London and caught the Tube in every day, spending from 10am to 7pm at the airport clocking planes.

"I like the sun, but I'd far rather be at the airport," he laughed.

"There's a tremendous variety at Heathrow, from cargo planes to South African long- haul ones. It's really interesting. I also enjoy people watching."

While flight delays are considered to be most travellers' nightmare, the father-of-two is glad of the extra few hours of plane spotting.

"We flew to Amsterdam at New Year and were involved in the delays at Luton, but I didn't mind being stuck at the airport," he said.

"I've been to most of the major airports and a lot of the smaller ones as well. I don't tend to get away for full weeks a lot, it's mainly for weekends."

Geoff added: "Believe it or not, there are hundreds of aviation enthusiasts and they're not all anoraks - you get doctors and all sorts doing it.

"My wife just leaves me to get on with it, and the children think I'm crackers.

"I just like to see planes. It's just one of those things."