Tom Daley's plane in mid-air emergency

Plymouth Olympic diver Tom Daley was involved in a dramatic mid-air emergency as his plane was forced to land in Russia after developing a technical fault.

The Virgin Atlantic flight VS251 was travelling from Shanghai to London Heathrow this morning when it ran into trouble forcing it to land at Irkutsk Airport.

Tom wrote on Instagram: "Just had to make an emergency landing in Irkutsk, Russia on the way back from Shanghai. Here's the pic of the fuel dump before landing."

After the landing he wrote on Twitter: "Scary to emergency land in RUS after recent events, yet no word on what problem is after hour surrounded by fire engines #VirginAtlantic"

Tom was travelling with his boyfriend, Dustin Lance Black, who had been supporting him at the Diving World Series event in Shanghai.

A spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic said: "Virgin Atlantic can confirm that the VS251 travelling from Shanghai to London Heathrow has diverted to Irkutsk Airport, Russia, as a precautionary measure due to a technical issue. Safety and security is always our top priority."

Irkutsk is a city in eastern Russia, north of Mongolia.