A MUM today told of her terror as a flight carrying her family suddenly plummeted towards the ground.

Sally Robertson, from Weymouth, was on board a Ryanair flight from Bristol to Girona in Spain that was forced into an emergency landing after a sudden loss of cabin pressure.

She was heading off on holiday with her children Jemma Geyser, 14, Nicole, 12, and Suzanne, 10, as well as her father James Topp.

Oxygen masks had to be deployed after what the airline called a de-pressurisation incident' but failed to work, according to some passengers.

The aircraft made a rapid descent to 8,000 feet before making an unscheduled stop at Limoges in France.

Of the 168 passengers on board, 16 were taken to hospital with earache, but many of the passengers boarded a replacement plane on to Girona a few hours later, including Mrs Robertson and her family.

Speaking from her hotel in Calella, Mrs Robertson, 44, said: "My life flashed before my eyes.

"It just happened so quickly.

"There was no announcement or anything and we had no idea what was happening.

"The plane just took a big swoop down and the oxygen masks fell out. I don't think the masks were working properly as there did not seem to be any oxygen coming through.

"I have never been so terrified in all my life. One of my daughters became very distressed and started hyperventilating. It was awful.

"When you have children you have to show it's going to be all right but my face probably gave me away."

Mrs Robertson admitted it was not easy to get back in the air after their ordeal.

She said: "When we landed it was such a relief, the thought of getting back on a plane was quite traumatic.

"Two of my daughters were checked on by medical staff because of their ears.

"They were given the choice to go to hospital but they said they were still OK to travel.

"My girls were very brave all in all considering what we went through."

Mrs Robertson said she was disappointed at the general treatment she and fellow passengers received from the Ryanair crew and ground staff at Limoges.

She said: "Overall the communication was very poor.

"When we arrived in France there wasn't much compassion.

"We were all just dumped in this room and it took two hours before we were offered a cold drink.

"The children were cold and we weren't offered any kind of blankets.

"I had to go and ask for some."

Mrs Robertson added: "It has put me off flying.

"After this holiday I think it's going to be a long time before I pluck up the courage to go on a plane again."

In a statement Ryanair said: "Ryanair will be in contact with all the passengers on board the aircraft to communicate our sincere apologies for any distress or delay the passengers on board may have suffered due to this depressurisation incident.

"Ryanair's engineers have inspected the aircraft overnight and have confirmed that the oxygen masks were working properly.

"The Irish and French Aviation Authorities have been notified of this incident and a full investigation will be undertaken."

The company added that no further information on the cause of the incident would be revealed until after the investigation.