A BOEING 767 holiday jet bound for Orlando in Florida with 257 passengers and a crew of 10 had to turn back when one of its engines was damaged by a bird strike on take-off at Manchester Airport today.

The aircraft, on a sub charter to Virgin Atlantic, was forced to fly out over the sea for 90 minutes to dump fuel before landing back at Manchester.

Engineers who inspected the aircraft ordered a new engine which was being flown into Manchester last night from Holland. The passengers were put up in hotels near the Airport and are expected to fly to Orlando tomorrow.

A spokesman said: "At no time was there any danger to passengers and we apologise to all the passengers for the inconvenience caused."

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