FIREFIGHTERS say that a pilot is lucky to have escaped injury or worse as the light aircraft he was flying caught fire this morning, forcing him to make a controlled landing in a farmer’s field in Knighton, just outside Inkberrow, near Redditch.

Following an alert at around 10.50am, two pumps from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, both from Redditch, attended along with two pumps from neighbouring Warwickshire, and on arrival at the scene, firefighters found a fuel spillage and a small fire in the cockpit which had already been extinguished.

The pilot was unhurt as a result of the incident, but was checked at the scene by ambulance personnel as a precaution.

Phil Griffiths, station commander at Redditch Fire Station said: “The pilot did really well to land the aircraft safely, especially considering it was fully loaded with fuel at the time.”

He confirmed that there had been a small amount of damage to a fence at the farm as the aircraft came down and that investigation into the cause of the fire was underway.

Police also attended and the Civil Aviation Authority was informed.

Firefighters left the scene once they were sure there was no further risk of fire, and the aircraft was later recovered.