A MAN told today how his dream holiday turned into a nightmare when he was arrested after a mid-air brawl on an aeroplane.

Stephen Hyatt, 46, right, of Chapelhouse Road, Nelson, appeared before Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, yesterday after being arrested when he flew back from a holiday in the Dominican Republic.

He was one of two men charged with affray following a the incident on a Britannia aircraft on March 28 last year.

Today police warned holidaymakers to behave this summer or face going to jail.

Hyatt, who is married to Carolyn, 40, and has a 24-year-old daughter Zoe, said his wife had paid for the holiday with her redundancy money after losing her job at Burnley catering firm Brakes Brothers.

He said: "The holiday was supposed to be a holiday of a lifetime. Instead it will be one that is a constant reminder of what happened.

Hyatt, an engineer at Weston's, Foulridge, was travelling on a flight bound for Gatwick Airport when a fracas broke out with Robert Steven Orphanides, 38, of Plaistow, London.

They had to be restrained by crew members and other passengers and the captain decided to divert to Manchester and make an emergency landing.

Orphanides was sentenced to nine months imprisonment and Hyatt received a £250 fine after pleading guilty.

Hyatt said: "The cabin crew asked me and my wife if we would like to be moved to seats with more leg room. We were already settled in but Carolyn wanted to move, so we did.

"About 20 minutes into the flight I heard a man having an argument with the cabin crew saying he wanted to sit where we were sitting."

He said the other man became violent and added: "I was very shaken and when the cabin crew led him past me to be seated I am afraid to admit that I did lose it for a moment and starting f-ing and blinding at him, which wasn't very nice for passengers to have to listen to and which I am deeply sorry for.

"In hindsight I would have handled it differently and prevented this whole nightmare."

Hyatt said he did not want the other man to be sent to prison. He said: "We have met since the incident and he shook my hand to apologise. I can't see the point in holding a grudge, he was drunk and out of order and has accepted that."

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police, which dealt with the incident, said: "The court result sends a clear message to anyone flying this summer that acting in an anti-social manner on an aircraft is an extremely serious offence.

"Anyone convicted of such an offence could face a hefty fine or more seriously a custodial sentence as Mr Orphanides has received. In addition to this both men will now have criminal records and their convictions will affect their future travel plans.

"People are not above the law just because they are in the air.

"Travellers need to think very carefully about their actions as a fight on an aeroplane could ultimately carry more serious consequences than a similar incident on the ground due to the fact that there are a large number of people in a confined space and immediate police and first aid assistance cannot be provided.

"These type of incidents are taken very seriously and people should consider this when they travel."