A Ryanair jet has been forced to make a u-turn in mid-air and make an emergency landing due to a suspected on-board fire.

The Boeing 737 was heading to Agadir, Morocco from Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport when a fire indicator light was activated in the cockpit.

The pilot flew the plane back to Liverpool and made an emergency landing less than half an hour after take-off.

The 116 passengers and crew evacuated the plane by inflatable emergency slides and were rushed away from the aircraft by coach. But no injuries have been reported.

Police and ambulances arrived swiftly on the scene, and fire crews scanned the plane for signs of fire with thermal imaging equipment. However no evidence was found and a faulty fire indicator light is believed to have been the cause of the scare.

Robin Tudor, a spokesman for John Lennon Airport, said: “An emergency was declared after a report of a fire on board the plane. The emergency landing was performed safely, everyone was evacuated and we got passengers away from the aircraft as quickly as possible as a precaution.

The airport remained closed for approximately one hour, and reopened shortly after 5pm. Ryanair arranged a spare aircraft to fly the delayed passengers to Agadir.