A British man whose drunken behaviour caused a flight to make an emergency landing in Bermuda has been jailed.

Grant Smith, of Burnley, in Lancashire, was abusive and aggressive towards the crew of the Thomson Airways 133 flight on December 31 last year after drinking heavily before the plane took off after a three-hour delay. He called one attendant a 'poof'.

Manchester Crown Court heard the 36-year-old was with a party of several passengers who caused trouble on the flight to the Dominican Republic.

The defendant was travelling with his girlfriend and another couple.

Smith admitted drunkenness on an aircraft and was jailed for ten-and-a-half months.

Prosecutor Adam Lodge said that problems began an hour into the flight when flight attendant Tim Burrows' wallet was taken by some of the passengers and thrown around the cabin of the Boeing 767.

Smith retrieved the wallet and handed it back to Mr Burrows, but became abusive and demanded food, the court heard. And he called Mr. Burrows a poof, a derogatory term for a homosexual.

He was issued with two formal warning letters by the captain, which he ripped up.

Mr Lodge said: "He was also found by a door, saying, 'I'm not sure what I'll do, I'll kill somebody', or words to that effect."

Smith and six other passengers — who were not charged — were removed from the aircraft when it landed in Bermuda.

The court heard from Smith's lawyer, Jon Oultram, who said his client admitted calling Mr. Burrows a poof but said it wasn't meant to be homophobic.

Mr. Oultram told the court the single father had gone on vacation to "get away from everything at home" following the death of a close friend. He said Smith's teenage daughter was also pregnant.

Judge Elgan Edwards said: "Passengers and crew travelling on aircraft are entitled to do so without being confronted by drunken behaviour carried out by people like yourself."

He said his homophobic comments were "not acceptable" and said he would be banned from flying with Thomson.

The emergency landing cost the airline around £50,000 or $80,000.