'I'm still reliving the Leicester helicopter crash'

Martin Wicks was part of the maintenance team at Leicester City, when the helicopter crashed outside the club's stadium in 2018

An eyewitness who was one of the first people at the scene of the Leicester City helicopter crash said he still relived the tragedy every day more than six years on.

Foxes chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in the crash outside the club's stadium, alongside fellow passengers Kaveporn Punpare, Nusara Suknamai, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner Izabela Roza Lechowicz on 27 October 2018.

Martin Wicks - who was part of the maintenance team at the club - arrived at the downed helicopter "covered in fuel" and alerted two police officers who unsuccessfully tried to break into the aircraft to rescue those inside.

The 56-year-old plumbing and heating engineer, who gave evidence to a jury inquest - which recorded an accidental conclusion on Tuesday - told the BBC: "It's something that never leaves you."

After the crash, Mr Wicks was given a bravery award in 2019 but he said his wife - rather than him - deserved the award, adding she and his children had helped him deal with the psychological impact of the crash.

Mr Wicks explained due to his work at the stadium and training ground, he was outside the stadium in the car park when the Leonardo AW169 aircraft came down after taking off at 20:37 BST - following the club's 1-1 draw with West Ham United.

He told the inquest, which was held at Leicester City Hall, that the helicopter was "making an unusual noise", but that it came down in "quite a controlled manner" after the tail rotor duplex bearing failed and caused the aircraft to enter an uncontrolled spin.

The helicopter crashed on its left hand side on a concrete step - creating a "substantial" leak that ignited the aircraft within a minute of the crash before flames "rapidly" spread, the jury heard.

'Silhouettes'

"It all seemed like it was happening in slow motion," he added.

"I didn't want to get too close because, unfortunately, I was covered in aviation fuel at the time, from where I'd been."

Before he realised the wrecked helicopter was alight, Mr Wicks was six feet from the cockpit and said he could see "silhouettes" inside, adding that "it did look like they were moving".

He alerted two police officers - Sgt Michael Hooper and PC Stephen Quartermain - who were attempting in vain to break the windscreen of the cockpit, but all three eventually moved to safety.

Five people, including the club's chairman, lost their lives in the crash

The inquest was told that because the helicopter had landed on its side, neither side doors could be accessed, with with one set about 2.5m (8.2ft) above the ground and the other against the floor.

Specialist equipment would have been needed to break the glasses, which is designed to withstand the impact of a 1kg bird travelling at 180mph (289km/h), the jury heard.

The inquest has also been told that four of the five who died may have survived had the aircraft not caught fire.

In 2019, Mr Wicks was commended for his bravery on the night of the crash, with an award from the football club, emergency services and city council handed to him by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Mr Wicks - pictured with the Princess of Wales - said his wife and children deserved a bravery award for helping him cope since the crash

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Wicks - who now works as a mechanical engineer at Leicester General Hospital - said: "I was in an emotional bubble with a bravery award from the Royal Family and everything to do with the impact that caused.

"But to be honest, I think my wife deserves the award, not me.

"Because it's the impact that you bring back to your home - appetite loss, mood swings, night terrors.

"The biggest compliment I can give is to my wife and children that helped me through it.

"I'm still living it now, still going through it all. The impact is not instant. It's when it creeps up on you, when you're down, when you're fed-up.

"I don't even think if you're in the emergency services, any form of training would prepare you for what we actually saw that night, if I'm truthful.

"It's still as fresh in my mind today as on the day it happened."