A man who was detained in Britain following a bomb hoax at Manchester Airport has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

The man (47), from the north west, was arrested by armed officers after an RAF Typhoon jet had to be scrambled to escort a flight from Qatar into Manchester.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said "Following his arrest he was assessed by medical staff and again by a mental health team. He was subsequently sectioned to allow for a fuller assessment and appropriate treatment".

The emergency came when the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR23 from Doha reported concerns about a possible device. Fears are thought to have been raised when a passenger passed a note to a member of the cabin crew.

The Typhoon was dispatched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, with pictures and video of the unfolding drama posted online.

Josh Hartley, who boarded at Doha, said "The flight was pretty calm all the way through, but some people are shaken up, quite a few. It was scary".

Police pronounced the Airbus A330-300 clear after searching it. The 269 passengers and 13 crew were unharmed.

Aurang Zeb (60) who was returning from a holiday to his home in Bradford, said "I thought there was something wrong because there was a jet flying so near. Then I saw all the police with guns. Lots of police everywhere".

"Kids were crying, some people looked very worried because of rumours there was a bomb on the plane".

Mr Zeb said two armed police boarded and removed the suspect passenger.

He said "They sat him up and said 'Put your hands up'. He did not say anything. There was a rumour of a bomb on the plane so people were scared. Thank God for that not happening" he added.

Nine incoming flights had to be diverted to other airports because of the hoax.