Stowaway mouse causes British Airways flight to be delayed for hours

A British Airways plane was delayed for hours because there was a mouse on board.

Passengers strapped in on the plane from Heathrow to San Francisco when it was announced there was going to be a delay.

Despite the travelers on the 10:40 GMT flight being ready to take off, they had to change planes.

However, they were also informed it would be several hours for a gate to be found for the mouse-free plane.

A passenger told the BBC that it was announced "a rather unusual occurrence has occurred".

They then said rules stipulate that planes cannot take off if a mouse is found on board.

The passenger, called Carly, said: "I'm not sure people knew how to react,

"There was general disbelief."

Some passengers tweeted about the flight, with one writing a Haiku about the mouse.

Another flight was provided for the passengers four hours later.

British Airways said: "We know almost everyone wants to fly with us to San Francisco, but on this occasion there was one very small customer who we had to send back to the gate.

"Everyone with two legs is now on their way to California, and we are sorry for the delay."