JUBILANT Saints fans saw their team secure a place in the League Cup final at Wembley after taking just one hour to reach Liverpool.

The fans, who included Southampton's chief executive, Gareth Rogers, and club ambassador Kelvin Davis, feared they would miss the big match after being left stranded 235 miles from Anfield.

But a rescue operation staged by Flybe ensured they were present to witness one of the greatest nights in the club's history.

The drama began just two hours before kick off on Wednesday when a technical fault delayed the 3.20pm flight to Manchester - the closest airport to Liverpool that can reached from Southampton on a scheduled service.

Delays and cancellations caused by freezing fog the day before meant other flights were fully-booked.

The only alternatives - a marathon drive or train journey - would have resulted in the fans reaching Liverpool about an hour after full time.

But a plane was miraculously made ready and flew the fans directly to Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport.

The hastily-arranged charter flight organised by Flybe landed at about 7.40pm and a bus took them straight to Anfield. They arrived at the ground about an hour after leaving Southampton.

The mission was masterminded by Flybe’s chief operating officer, Luke Farajallah, after he and his staff saw the fans' plight unfolding on social media.

He made all of the arrangements to find a plane, round up a crew and arrange priority clearance at John Lennon Airport for the aircraft to land.

The fans missed only the opening few minutes of the match.

A Flybe spokesman said: “Flybe regrets that the (original) flight was delayed due to a technical fault with the aircraft and the subsequent anxiety this caused the many Southampton football supporters relying on this service to travel to Liverpool for the EFL Cup semi-final.

“A replacement aircraft was flown to Southampton to fly the supporters direct to Liverpool, where it was given priority landing at the airport.

"Flybe also organised a coach to meet the aircraft and transport the fans immediately to Anfield. The aircraft departed Southampton at 6.40pm and Flybe took all possible steps to ensure the supporters reached the ground as quickly as possible.

Saints won 1-0, securing a 2-0 aggregate victory over Liverpool to reach the final at Wembley on February 26.