Originally Posted by
TheOddOne
...which makes it so highly dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. If baulked in the circuit, the safest procedure (and standard at several airfields) is to continue to fly the circuit at circuit height/altitude until able to have sufficient spacing to approach and land. Next best, but only when it's quiet, is to 'extend downwind' but doing this when there is following traffic means that you wind up with a trail of aircraft behind you, inevitably one will see an opportunity to short-circuit (pun intended) and cut everyone else up.
TOO
If you're at an airfield with ATC as was the OP's case, you need to comply with what they tell you to do. I had one particular incident where I popped out of cloud at 140 kts on the ILS at a busy UK airport (having been cleared to land) only to find a Cessna 152 less than 100 metres ahead and slightly below. I had no option but to overtake him on the left. The pilot had been told to hold on right base, but didn't.