An Irish plumber has been fined more than £3,000 after getting drunk and abusing British Airways staff on a flight to Las Vegas, forcing the aircraft to abandon take-off and return to the terminal at Heathrow. Emmet Moynihan, 31, from Cork, ignored repeated instructions from a stewardess to return to his seat, swore at staff and passengers, and had to be addressed by the co-pilot before armed officers removed him from the plane, which was carrying 331 people.

Moynihan appeared before Uxbridge Magistrates' Court and admitted being drunk on an aircraft and disobeying the captain's orders. The court heard he had been drinking since Cork City ahead of a stag do, with free alcohol served during an earlier delay, and that footage of the incident has been viewed six million times online. He was ordered to pay a £3,199 fine, comprising a £2,224 penalty, £890 surcharge and £85 costs, with the magistrate calling the offence "very, very serious" and noting it would have been treated far more gravely had the plane been airborne.