Two pilots exposed in a TV documentary for drinking before flights to Gatwick have been sacked for gross misconduct.

The first officers for British Airways were filmed for the Channel 4 Dispatches programme, which showed pilots and cabin crew drinking heavily the evening before they were due to fly.

The pilots were dismissed following disciplinary hearings in the last few days.

Another resigned during a hearing last week and two more pilots were issued with written warnings, a spokesman for the airline said.

BA has not released their names but the pilots' union BALPA said they were considering an appeal.

A total of 11 pilots and eight cabin crew were grounded while the airline launched an investigation into the programme's claims.

Two pilots have been cleared and reinstated, and disciplinary hearings for the remaining four pilots are due over the next few weeks.

Of the eight cabin crew, five face disciplinary hearings, two will be reinstated and one is still the subject of the ongoing investigation.

The documentary claimed one Boeing 737 pilot flew from Barcelona to Gatwick soon after drinking eight pints.