ALL that ash from an unpronounceable volcano in Iceland last week left me stuck in West Yorkshire.

With no flights moving in and out, I had to stay here, in and around Huddersfield.

At least I didn’t have to sleep on the floor of Leeds-Bradford Airport or lobby consular officials to sort out my travel arrangements. I used the car for essential trips to the shops and my wife Maria used her bus pass. Thank goodness Metro bus engines were unaffected.

Not that we wanted to fly anywhere but, if we had, we wouldn’t have been able to. I mean, I’ve read the horror stories about tourists struck in Thailand and Orlando. Imagine being stuck in Luton with flat beer and no immediate prospect of getting home?

Accordingly, being stranded here in God’s own county was not that much of a strain. Nothing to do but read a good book, rest my bad back, watch the telly and make the occasional visit to licensed premises.

The ash has caused the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights since April 14 when European countries shut down their airspace following the volcanic eruption. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) put the overall cost to the airline industry at more than a billion pounds.

I have some sympathy with those passengers stuck in the middle but I do not go along with the blame game.

Airline bosses have claimed the Government over-reacted by grounding planes for six days but what if a plane had crashed?

A Department for Transport spokesman said, “Safety is paramount. The decision made by safety regulators to restrict airspace was made in line with long-standing international guidelines and information from aircraft manufacturers that any volcanic ash could pose a danger to aircraft.”

It seems to me that the Government was motivated by passenger safety and the airlines by something else.