British Airways plane is struck by LIGHTNING on approach to Heathrow forcing urgent diversion

A British Airways plane has been struck by lightning on its approach to Heathrow Airport.

Passengers on board the Flight BA919 from Stuttgart to Heathrow told of their 'shock' after the incident which forced crews to divert to Gatwick.

The flight left Germany just after 1pm local time (12pm BST) and was due to land at Heathrow at 1.40pm. 

But the poor weather forced the pilots to divert to Gatwick, where passengers arrived at around 2pm before they were driven to Heathrow. 

One passenger shared a photo of the lightning outside the plan window and said: 'The crew were amazing when our flight got struck by lightning on the approach to Heathrow. It was shocking. The flight had to divert to Gatwick.'

Another man, whose son and grandson were on the flight, described it as the 'flight from hell' after passengers were delayed by over heated brakes in Stuttgart before being diverted in the UK due to lightning.

A spokesman for British Airways said: 'BA919 diverted to Gatwick earlier this afternoon due to weather related conditions in the region.

'The flight landed just before 2pm. Customers were driven from Gatwick to Heathrow.'

Another passenger, who was on a different flight to Heathrow, also revealed: 'Just got struck by lightning on the approach into Heathrow. It entered just underneath the flight deck and left the tail - we saw it shoot through the cabin. 

'I’d heard of lighting travelling through the cabin before but it was my first time seeing it in real life.' 

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.