A holiday jet had to abort landing when it was just 15ft off the ground.

The scare at Gatwick airport yesterday involved a Britannia Airways Boeing 757 with 230 passengers on board.

Flight 173 was arriving from Majorca when the airport control tower ordered the pilot to abort.

It is understood an easyJet aircraft had aborted its take off further down the same runway.

The Britannia flight made a steep climb before going round and landing safely on its second attempt.

A Britannia spokesman said: "A go-around can sometimes happen when the plane is just ten feet from landing. It can be alarming for people on board but it is a perfectly safe manoeuvre - it probably happens once a day at Gatwick."

A man meeting a woman passenger at the airport said: "She looked like she was in state of shock when she came through. It must have been scary."

An airport spokeswoman said: "It happens fairly regularly and it is not classed as an emergency or near-miss. There will not be an inquiry."