A flight to Cancun had to be diverted to Ireland after the pilot spilt coffee over the control panel, an Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigation found.

The hot liquid damaged an audio control panel in the cockpit, producing an electrical burning smell and smoke, an accident report revealed.

It created "significant communication difficulty" for the pilots flying the Condor aircraft.

The incident happened on February 6 this year and resulted in the Airbus A330 flight from Frankfurt in Germany, to Cancun in Mexico, being diverted to Shannon airport in Ireland.

The smoke stopped and the fumes did not result in injuries to any of the 11 crew or 326 passengers on board.

The report found the 49-year-old captain had put his coffee cup on a tray table - where objects are "vulnerable to being knocked over" - despite Airbus recommending pilots use the cup holders provided.