Passengers have caught the moment a British Airways plane was struck by lightning as it made its descent into Heathrow airport.

The flight from Stuttgart to London Heathrow had to be diverted to Gatwick airport because of the poor weather.

The flight left the German city just after 1pm local time (12pm BST) and was set to land at 1.40pm.

One passenger said they saw the bolt travel through the cabin.

He posted on X, formerly Twitter: “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’ve heard of lightning travelling through the cabin before, but it was my first time seeing it in real life.

Another man posted: “My son and grandson were on that flight.

“Over-heated brakes delayed take off in Stuttgart, struck by lightning and diverted to LGW. Flight from Hell if you ask me.”

Another passenger posted a picture of the moment on Twitter and said: “The crew were amazing when our flight got struck by lightning.”

A British Airways spokesman said: “The flight was diverted due to adverse weather conditions across Europe.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience to our customers’ travel plans.”

Aircraft are struck by lightning once or twice a year.