Air rage man given rude awakening

Three police officers restrained the drunk passenger

A drunk man who became aggressive towards other passengers had a nasty shock when he found his flight included British police sportsmen.

Cabin crew on the Singapore Airlines plane to New Zealand turned to the police contingent to deal with the man.

David Jenkins, from the British police rugby league team, told a New Zealand newspaper: "It was about the worst flight for this guy to be an idiot on."

The team were heading to New Zealand to play their Kiwi counterparts.

The team manager told the Sunday News: "Although there wasn't much of him, it took three police officers to restrain him."

The pilot on the flight to New Zealand last weekend considered diverting to Australia to offload the drunk, according to Mr Jenkins.

However, the pilot eventually decided to continue to Christchurch when the man was subdued and moved to the back of the plane.

The drunk passenger was met by local police when the flight landed.

No charges were levelled against him because the pilot felt the British officers had dealt with the incident effectively.