Singapore Airlines is to replace British-built Rolls-Royce engines on three Airbus A380 planes after crew refused to fly one of the jets from London.

The superjumbo was flown back to Singapore without passengers after oil was reportedly spotted on one of the giant turbines while at Heathrow airport.

Engines on this airliner and two others in Australia will be replaced with new versions of the same model which exploded on a Qantas jet last week.