A freight company was fined £4,000 after a passenger flight was loaded with paint and aerosols in breach of air safety regulations.

The aircraft was loaded with paint and aerosols, Crawley magistrates heard.

When the flight from Gatwick landed in Guernsey the hold was filled with solvent fumes which left a loader needing hospital treatment.

Target Express Parcels Ltd, based in Faraday Road, Crawley, was fined and ordered to pay £3,627 costs.

The firm admitted consigning paint and aerosols to an aircraft without proper documentation.

Claire Robinson, prosecuting for the Civil Aviation Authority, said the cartons of paint were part of a shipment for the Channel Islands brought to Gatwick by the company.

She said during the flight one of the cartons tipped over and cans of paint leaked.

Miss Robinson said: "As the aircraft doors were opened after the landing in Guernsey there was a strong smell of solvent.

"The floor was awash with yellow paint and it was running between passengers' bags."

Firefighters were called to ventilate the hold to make it safe but one of the loaders was affected by the fumes and needed treatment.

Clare Brown, defending, described the incident as an "isolated human error".