A woman who lit a cigarette aboard a packed jet has been censured by an airline for her actions.

The woman, who has not been named, sneaked into the toilets of a JMC Boeing 737 bound for Gatwick from Madeira for a smoke at 30,000ft.

She was caught red-handed by cabin crew.

The Captain radioed ahead and police at Gatwick boarded the aircraft and removed the woman in front of the other 232 passengers.

A police spokesman said: "The errors of her ways were pointed out to her but she was not charged with any offence."

The flight from Funchal in Madeira is three hours long and passengers are allowed to smoke in designated areas of the island's airport terminal.

Shaun Robinson, of Thomas Cook Airlines, which recently bought JMC, said the woman simply could not wait to light up once on board..

He said: "It is a reportable offence under the Air Navigation order to disobey the operating crew of an aeroplane.

"It is also remarkably dangerous to light up in a plane's toilets at 30,000ft.

"We take the safety of passengers, crew and aircraft very seriously indeed and we will not hesitate to call in the police to take action in instances such as these."

The airline urged all passengers to think twice before ignoring non-smoking regulations on aircraft.