Passengers on a British jumbo jet told last night of their terror after seeing flames shooting from one of its engines.

Holidaymakers on the flight to Barbados described hearing an engine cut out before flames shot 15ft from a port engine of the Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 as it flew over Southampton, although the airline said there was no fire.

The plane, which had 310 passengers aboard, was forced to return to Gatwick less than an hour after take-off at 10am yesterday.

A Virgin Atlantic 747 was forced to return to Gatwick less than an hour after take-off

One British family feared a repeat of Thursday's Madrid plane crash, in which 153 people died.

Ruben Jackson, 28, from London, travelling with his girlfriend Agnieszka and their two-year-old son Samuel, was sitting next to the wing. He said: 'Flames started coming from the number one engine - they were 12 to 15ft from the engine. The engine kept cutting out and the flames were shooting out as it was trying to start.'

Fire crews were on standby as the 747 landed safely.

'People were apprehensive about taking off again in that plane,' said Ruben. 'They were saying they wouldn't get back on because of what happened in Madrid.'

Most waited until another aircraft was found.

Virgin Atlantic said there was no panic. A spokesman said: 'The problem was a technical issue. There was no engine fire. We turned the plane back because the captain became aware of a technical problem.

'There was no emergency landing at Gatwick - it was simply a precautionary landing.'

Meanwhile, an easyJet Airbus A319 flying from Luton to Sardinia diverted to Nice yesterday after the cockpit filled with smoke. The captain and first officer suffered from smoke inhalation but none of the passengers was hurt.

EasyJet said an electrical fault was the most likely cause.