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 coast.

The Airbus craft took off from London Gatwick at 11.37am and headed straight to Cornwall, flying directly over Southampton.

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."