Two passengers were removed from a flight after they wrote on the outside of the plane in felt-tip pen.

The pair, believed to be a man and a woman in their 40s, were due to fly from Southampton to La Rochelle in the south of France at around midday on Wednesday, when the captain of the Flybe plane saw them writing on two items of equipment, including the body of the aircraft.

It is believed they were on their way to a wedding and used felt-tip pen to write about the occasion on the outside of the plane.

They were asked to remove the writing but it would not come off, so they were reported to the authorities.

The plane was bound for La Rochelle, on France's west coast Credit: Fotolia/AP

A spokesman for Flybe said: "Immediately prior to and during boarding, the captain of the above flight witnessed two passengers writing with felt pens on two items of equipment that included the body of the aircraft.

"In the interests of maintaining safety and security for the protection of its passengers and crew, Flybe has a zero tolerance policy towards any potential criminal behaviour.

"The incidents were therefore reported to the authorities who attended the aircraft and took the perpetrators away from questioning".

The passengers and their baggage were removed from the plane and the flight then departed on schedule. A spokesperson from the police said no arrests were made.