Hundreds of airline passengers faced chaos today as winds of up to 65mph battered Leeds Bradford Airport.

At least eight flights to destinations including Dublin, Edinburgh, Belfast and Heathrow, were cancelled - with some replaced by bus services - leaving some travellers with long delays of more than four hours.

Other passengers were diverted to Manchester and Newcastle airports to catch connecting flights to their holiday destinations as high crosswinds lashed the airport in Yeadon today.

A spokeswoman for Leeds Bradford International Airport said the winds were "unusually high".

She said: "In severe weather conditions it is the captain's decision to take the most appropriate course of action. Passengers are advised to check in as normal."

A weather forecaster for MeteoGroup UK said the blus-tery conditions were set to continue.

She said: "There are some pretty gusty winds coming across the Pennines that have certainly been gather-ing speed.

"They have reached nearly 65mph - enough to do some damage - so you would ex-pect flights to be cancelled."

The spokeswoman said the winds were expected to die down before picking up again in the early hours of the morning.