A man who caused a passenger jet to divert overnight to Bermuda has been remanded in custody in the UK.

Dean Lyons, of Basingstoke, Hampshire, was arrested by Sussex Police at Gatwick Airport on Friday.

He appeared at Crawley Magistrates Court the next day, where he was charged with being drunk on a plane.

The 29-year-old allegedly forced the flight crew of FCA flight 082 to land at L.F. Wade International Airport, after becoming "abusive" and lunging at an exit door on the aircraft.

The First Choice Airways Boeing 767-300 was 35,000 ft over the Atlantic en route from Gatwick to Cuba when the incident happened on Wednesday evening.

Passengers described Mr. Lyons as being "very drunk" on duty-free liquor and claimed he lashed out at other holidaymakers and crew.

On arrival in Bermuda at 6.45 p.m., officers from the Bermuda Police Service boarded the plane to take Mr. Lyons into custody.

The 268 passengers and 12 cabin crew had to be accommodated overnight at the Fairmont Southampton and Grotto Bay Beach Resort.

The charter jet then resumed its journey to Cuba at 1 p.m. on Thursday - some 18 hours later.

Lyons was not charged by the Bermuda Police Service but was flown back to the UK on Zoom Airlines later that day, accompanied by two security guards.

He is now in UK Police Service custody and will appear at Mid Sussex Magistrates Court tomorrow.