Pebmarsh: Pilot dies in light aircraft crash near stately home

The aircraft crashed near Stanley Hall in Pebmarsh Road, near Halstead

A man has died in a light aircraft crash in Essex.

Emergency services were called to a field close to Stanley Hall, a Grade II-listed property in Pebmarsh, near Halstead, at about 09:20 BST.

Police said the pilot, in his 70s, was the sole occupant in the plane and Pebmarsh Road would be shut overnight.

A woman who lived nearby described how the noise of the engine suddenly went "silent" before a large plume of smoke appeared.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: "A man, aged in his 70s, was found deceased at the scene."

A spokesperson at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said the plane was alight when crews arrived, who "quickly extinguished the fire".

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it sent a team to the crash site

A woman who lived in Pebmarsh, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she waved to the plane from her back garden as it travelled in a south-westerly direction.

"And the next minute there was silence and a huge plume of smoke," said the woman, who immediately dialled 999.

"This has been very upsetting and it has shaken us all."

A spokesperson for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: "A light aircraft accident near Halstead, in Essex, was reported to the AAIB this morning and a team has been sent to the scene to investigate."

A woman who lived in Pebmarsh said she saw the plane but "the next minute there was silence"