A Ryanair plane has been forced to make an emergency landing after losing one of its two nose wheels.

The loss occurred after the Boeing 737 took off from Stansted bound for Copenhagen at 8.07am on Friday.

It was diverted to East Midlands airport, where it landed safely. Several flights were delayed at the Leicestershire airport as a result of the incident.

A Ryanair spokesman said: “The aircraft landed safely, customers disembarked and will board a replacement aircraft shortly.”

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch deployed a team of investigators to the scene.