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A British Airways flight packed with holidaymakers on their way from Gatwick to Crete had to make an emergency landing after the smell of “cannabis” filled the plane.

Flight BA2552 had to return to Gatwick after around an hour-and-a-half because of the pungent stench.

Father-of-two Stuart Barnes, 40, told the paper: “We were four rows from the back and the whole back of the plane stank. The smell was unmistakable.”

Mr Barnes said: “There was a faint smell when we got on.

“We were told that they hoped when they put the air conditioning on it would clear, but it got even stronger.

“You could tell straightaway what it was.”

After a diversion over Paris, the plane was sent back to London where the 174 travellers on board had an hour-long wait for a replacement flight on Thursday morning, The Sun reported.

Fire crews were also sent on board to investigate the overpowering odour.

Simon Skinner posted on Twitter: “British Airways flight to Heraklion turned back after nasty smell.

“Disappointed holidaymakers, chance to excel with rapid turnaround?”

Hundreds of other travellers stuck in Crete by the ensuing disruption faced delays of up to six hours, the paper reported.

A British Airways spokeswoman said no evidence of cannabis or anybody smoking cannabis was found on board.

She added: "Our pilot returned the aircraft to Gatwick as a precaution following reports of an unidentified strong smell in the cabin.

"We are sorry for the delay to our customers' journeys."