Hundreds of flights in and out of Britain have been cancelled as a giant cloud of volcanic ash drifts across the country.

All airports in Scotland are closed and services at Belfasrt, Manchester, Liverpool, Stanstead, Newcastle and Birmingham have been grounded. London’s Gatwick and Heathrow are also hit.

Passengers are advised to contact their airlines prior to travelling.

The volcanic smoke and steam emanating from below Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier prompted
air traffic controllers to impose restrictions as weather forecasters issued a warning.

Aviation experts say tiny particles of rock, glass and sand in the cloud could jam aircraft engines.

The plume of ash is moving south and is expected to track over Europe tonight.

The European air safety body, Eurocontrol, says the
ash cloud has reached a height of 55 thousand feet or nearly 17,000 metres.

But, as it moves towards the Netherlands and Belgium it is expected to lose its intensity and dissipate.

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