Simon Cowell pranked by Cheryl Cole on birthday

Cheryl Cole sought revenge on her former boss Simon Cowell on his recent birthday by paying for a plane to fly over Miami, Florida and display a banner advertising his age.

Simon Cowell hired Cheryl Cole to sit on the panel of The X Factor, alongside Paula Abdul and Antonio 'L.A.' Reid, earlier this year (11), but the Girls Aloud beauty was subsequently dropped from the show after failing to impress TV bosses.

She has kept a low profile in the wake of the drama, but she still treated the music mogul to a gift to mark his 52nd birthday earlier this month (07Oct11) - a present she knew he would "least like to receive".

Journalist Piers Morgan, who recently dined with Cheryl Cole in Los Angeles, reveals in his column for Britain's Live magazine, "She really did send a plane over a Miami house that Simon Cowell was staying in recently, sporting a birthday banner saying, 'Simon Cowell is 52 today - ha ha ha. Love Cheryl'.

"She admitted: 'I knew it would be the one thing he'd least like to receive'."