A RYANAIR flight was forced to make an emergency landing after losing one of its nose wheels.

The Boeing 737 aircraft lost the wheel after taking off from London Stansted for Copenhagen at 8.07am on Friday.

It was diverted to East Midlands Airport where it landed safely.

Several other flights were delayed at the Leicestershire airport as a result of the incident.

A Ryanair spokesman said: "This flight from Stansted to Copenhagen diverted to East Midlands because of the loss of one of its two nose wheels after take-off.

"The aircraft landed safely in East Midlands, customers disembarked and will board a replacement aircraft shortly."

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