How I flew into a fury after flight from hell

ON A flight from San Francisco to London, I was in the row in front of a young American couple and their six-year-old son.

The child started playing up even before we had taken off. For 11 hours we were subjected to an almost continuous string of tantrums that would have put a two-year-old to shame. Their method of dealing with the situation was to bribe him with promises of all the things they would buy him. This would give us respite for, at most, 20 minutes.

I have never been so relieved to disembark an aircraft. My relief was short-lived when, to my horror, having settled into my seat on the heathrow

Express to Paddington, I heard the same child throwing yet another hissy fit.

I lost it! I walked over to where the family were sitting, leaned across the table and, with my face barely a foot from the boy, said through gritted teeth: ‘Shut up! We have all had to put up with your appalling behaviour for 11 hours on the flight and we’re not going to put up with any more!’

To my surprise, he muttered: ‘Sorry, I’ll be quiet, I promise.’ Fully expecting to be berated by his parents, I apologised for interfering. But the mother said: ‘That’s amazing! I don’t suppose you’d consider coming on holiday with us?’ There wasn’t a peep from the lad for the rest of the journey.

Robert Readman, Bournemouth, Dorset.