LOVE was in the air in a more literal sense today after a Virgin plane made a special Valentine's Day flight over the South West.

The Airbus craft took off from London Gatwick at 11.37am and headed straight to Cornwall.

But after reaching Penzance it took a sudden turn right before flying in the shape of an enormous love heart over the north coast of Cornwall and Devon.

Social media users, watching live on flight-tracking website, were delighted by the unusual formation.

One wrote: "Hats off to Virgin Atlantic for sharing the love this Valentine's Day."

Not everyone was impressed, however.

Matt Rhodes wrote on Twitter: "To be honest if your PR stunt doesn't involve sending something to Mars I'm not longer interested."