ALL flights from Stansted Airport will be put on hold from noon today as volcanic ash is posing a serious risk to aircraft.

BAA is suspending all flights in and out of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick after a volcano erupted in Iceland and spewed out a vast cloud of ash which has drifted into British airspace.

Airports in Scotland and Northern Ireland are already shut and Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport has suspended all flights until at least 1pm.

Experts have warned that particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash would be capable of jamming aeroplane engines.