A Dutch man who flew to China to meet a woman he met online has had to be treated in hospital with exhaustion after waiting at the airport for 10 days.

Alexander Peter Cirk, 41, refused to leave Changsha Huanghua International airport in Hunan after his online girlfriend, known as Zhang, failed to turn up.

Mr Cirk was eventually taken to the hospital suffering from physical exhaustion, according to Hunan TV.

He told the channel he had met Ms Zhang through a messaging app two months before and that they had planned for him to visit her.

Ms Zhang, 26, reportedly got in touch with the TV channel the day after to report her side of the story, explaining she "thought it was a joke".

She told Hunan TV: “We had advanced our romantic relationship but later he seemed a little callous towards me.

“One day he sent me a photo of air tickets abruptly and I thought it was a joke. He didn't contact me later.”

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Ms Zhang added that she had been away having plastic surgery with her phone turned off while Mr Cirk was waiting at the airport.

Mr Cirk reportedly flew back to the Netherlands shortly after being treated in hospital.