An oil worker was beginning a 12-month jail sentence last night for refusing to switch off his mobile phone during an international flight.

Airlines, police and the pilots' association welcomed the prison term imposed on Neil Whitehouse by a judge at Manchester Crown Court in the first case of its kind.

Whitehouse (28), was convicted of "recklessly and negligently" acting in a manner likely to endanger the British Airways flight from Madrid to Manchester in September last year after a trial last month.

Sentencing him today in what was described as a landmark case, Judge Anthony Ensor told him: "The evidence was that over a period of 10 minutes you caused problems for the cabin crew by having your phone switched on and ignored their reasonable requests.

"Clearly you have no regard to the alarm and concern caused to passengers by your stubborn and arrogant behaviour."

The trial heard that when told by cabin crew that his phone could interfere with navigational systems even though he did not make a call, Whitehouse replied: "Why? Are we going to get lost?"

It was the first case brought under the Air Navigation Order 1995.