Drunk passenger who caused chaos on plane and sexually assaulted cabin crew member is jailed

An airline passenger who was so drunk he did not know what country he was in has been jailed after sexually assaulting a female cabin crew member and forcing the plane to be diverted.

Andrew Tosh, 34, assaulted the crew member, and swore and acted aggressively towards other passengers on a Thomas Cook flight from Glasgow to Turkey in May.

Video footage released by Sussex Police shows the moment Tosh was carried off the aircraft by other officers after the plane was diverted to Gatwick Airport.

Tosh, of Stirling Street, Dundee, has been jailed for nine months after pleading guilty to sexual assault, threatening and abusive behaviour, assault and being drunk on an aircraft.

He was also placed on the sex offender register.

When one officer told him he was being arrested for being drunk on board an aircraft, Tosh replied: "What are you going to do about it?"

Officers even had to put a hood on Tosh to stop him spitting at them.

Thomas Cook said it operated a "zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour on our flights", adding that incidents such as these are "very rare".

Sussex Police said it was releasing the footage as a warning to passengers that drunken behaviour on flights will not be tolerated.

Police and airline staff at check-in desks are handing out leaflets warning passengers of the consequences of getting drunk on flights as part of Operation Disrupt.