A father of two today told of his shock when the pilot of a troubled holiday jet asked them: "Put your hands up if you want to fly with me."

The McMillan family were among 230 passengers due to fly to Leeds Bradford International Airport from Minorca.

But they refused to travel after their plane broke down twice on the runway.

After more than eight hours trying to fix the problem the captain stood on a chair in the terminal lounge and asked those who wanted to board the troubled flight to join him.

But Jonathan McMillan said he hadn't wanted to take the risk of flight MYT392, encountering problems in mid-air.

Today Mr McMillan, of Greenfields Way, Burley-in-Wharfedale, said he had been left "shell-shocked" by the situation.

He paid almost 500 Euros (£360) to fly his family home the next day.

"I didn't care how much it was going to cost - we weren't going back on it," said the 36-year-old. We're still shell-shocked about it all. It was a lot to take in.

"The captain said he had been told by his bosses he had to take off. Those who weren't prepared to fly were moved to one side and the other passengers boarded the plane and it went."

The captain said there was a problem with one of the baggage holds because an electrical fault meant the plane's computer thought it was in the air.

The delayed flight led to chaos at Leeds Bradford International Airport at the weekend, with services being delayed.

Mr McMillan said 13 people, including himself, his wife Fiona, 34, and children Ross, six, and Kirsty, two, refused to fly on the 7.20pm flight from Minorca.

The family were put up in a hotel for the rest of the night by MyTravel, but had to pay for return flights with another airline to Manchester Airport.

They finally arrived in England at 10pm on Saturday and were driven home by a neighbour.

Mr McMillan said his family had travelled to Minorca with MyTravel for the past five years without any difficulty.

Sally Ramsay, marketing co-ordinator at Leeds Bradford, said the delay had a "huge impact" on other flights at the weekend.

She said: "The plane being late had a knock-on effect over the weekend."

She said the plane arrived safely on Saturday.

A MyTravel spokesman said: "The problem turned out to be merely a faulty indication light in the flight deck."

He said customers who did not travel on the flight were assisted with alternative flight options.

"We would like to apologise to any customer who experienced delays," said the spokesman. "But the health and safety of our passengers is a paramount concern."