A passenger aboard the holiday jet that developed a suspected fault on approach to Leeds Bradford Airport on Wednesday night says he would like to buy the "brilliant" pilot a pint for landing safely.

Stan Clay, 66, from Low Moor was on his way back from a week's sunshine break in Cyprus with his 64-year-old wife Pam when the drama began.

About 90 minutes before the flight was due to touch down, the captain announced there was a technical difficulty.

"We were getting a whiff of something like detergent or antiseptic. It was like brake fluid. The captain and staff were brilliant, very reassuring. We were told not to be alarmed to see flashing lights waiting to meet us on the ground, it was just a precaution and we were advised to re-read the cards infront of us just in case it was needed.

"There was no panic, everyone just went quiet. We all sat tight and hoped for the best. We had to circle for about 30 minutes above the airport but turned out it was a very smooth landing, in fact I'd like to buy the captain a pint!"

West Yorkshire Police said the Jet2 flight from Cyprus was due to land at 8.55pm but had to circle above in an effort to slow down before landing.

Police said a hydraulic fluid leak that got onto landing gear was suspected, triggering the emergency standby response.

West Yorkshire fire service sent crews from Bradford, Idle, Shipley, Rawdon, Cookridge and Moortown to the incident.

Flight L466 landed safely and had to be towed to the airport building.

A Jet2.com spokesperson said today: “As a precautionary measure, Flight L466 from Larnaca called for assistance on approach into Leeds Bradford Airport due to a fault indication. The aircraft landed safely and all customers disembarked the aircraft as normal.”