A British military aircraft has made the first airdrop of humanitarian aid in Iraq.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the plane had completed its mission overnight.

The airdrop comes after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced "a continuing drumbeat of airdrop operations" around the Sinjar mountains in the north of the country, where thousands of people from the Yazidi minority religious group have been trapped.

Two C130s left RAF Brize Norton yesterday and a spokesman for the MoD said one plane had made a drop of supplies including reusable filtration containers, tents and solar lights which can also recharge mobile phones.

The Government announced an £8 million emergency package, £3 million of which will go to charities and NGOs already on the ground and helping displaced people in northern Iraq, and £2.5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The US has begun airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) extremist targets engaging Kurdish forces near the key city of Irbil, but Britain has ruled out military action at this stage.

Speaking after chairing a meeting of the Government's Cobra committee yesterday, Mr Hammond said the wider focus is on supporting the refugees' exit from the mountainside.

Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama discussed the airdrops in a phone call yesterday, but admitted that a "long term solution" would be needed to quell the IS advance.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The Prime Minister welcomed the US efforts and made clear that we are keen to work with the Americans on the humanitarian effort.

"They agreed that the immediate priority is to get vital supplies to those trapped on Mt Sinjar and the UK will join the US in delivering aid drops.

"Both leaders also agreed that aid drops are not a long term solution, and that a way must be found to get these people to safety and to avert a genocide."