PASSENGERS arrived in Bournemouth nearly nine hours late after a faulty Ryanair plane was diverted for safety reasons.

They said the aircraft started to shake just half-an-hour into the Bournemouth-bound flight from Murcia in Spain.

Passengers then faced an agonising wait before the plane landed safely in Madrid.

But that was not the end of their problems as they were eventually flown to Birmingham, then taken to Bournemouth airport by taxi.

When one passenger asked for a drink of water at Madrid, she was told she would have to pay three Euros for it.

Clive and Bev Block from Canford Heath were returning home from a six-day break when the drama unfolded.

Mr Block, 70, said: “At first it felt like turbulence because the plane was shaking but it was coming and going.

“It was quite violent and after a while there was an announcement and we were told there was a technical problem affecting control of the aircraft.

“We were told it would be about 20 minutes to Madrid but we then circled for another 20 minutes before we landed, flanked by emergency vehicles.”

He added: “The man next to me had his head in his hands and my wife was clinging on to me. There was a massive cheer of relief when we finally landed. I think the final straw was when Bev had a dry mouth when we landed and asked for some water and they said we had to pay for it.”

Passengers then had to wait in the plane for an hour before boarding another plane.

“They told us we were flying to Bournemouth but about two thirds of the way through the flight they said we had to go to Birmingham.

“I believe they knew that before we took off but they didn’t tell us. The taxi drivers in Birmingham knew about it before the flight left Madrid.”

Mr Block said they got home at 7.30am yesterday although the flight should have landed at 10.55pm on Tuesday after a further delay caused by collecting their car from the collapsed parking firm BOMO. Bev, who was retiring yesterday, had to go straight to work.

A spokesman for Ryanair said: “This flight from Murcia to Bournemouth (26 Jun) diverted to Madrid after a cockpit warning light indicated a possible minor technical issue. The aircraft landed normally and customers disembarked boarded a replacement aircraft which continued to Bournemouth.

"However, due to an airport curfew, the flight was unable to land at Bournemouth and diverted to Birmingham, where customers were transferred to Bournemouth by coach. Ryanair sincerely apologised to all customers affected by this delay, which was entirely beyond our control.”

The delay had a knock-on impact on Ryanair’s flights between Bournemouth and Murcia yesterday with a flight scheduled to leave Bournemouth at 6.30am not departing until 1pm while a flight from Spain was cancelled.