Two injured as small plane crashes in field

Two people are being treated in hospital after a small plane crashed into a field.

It happened at about 15:50 BST between Pitsford and Moulton, north of Northampton.

A resident said his children "saw it doing sort of loops and it looked like it was struggling" before the crash.

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire Police said "two people have been taken to hospital for treatment, and an investigation into what happened has begun".

East Midlands Ambulance Service said the two patients were taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

According to Flightradar24, the plane took off near Rushden at about 11:00 and circled close to Stafford, before crashing on its return to Northamptonshire.

Former local councillor James Hill, who photographed the scene, told the BBC: "Just before it went down my kids said they saw it doing sort of loops and it looked like it was struggling.

"They didn't actually see it go down, but it looked like it wasn't very stable and then obviously it went down."

BBC Look East reporter Laura Foster said when she arrived "it was a calm scene considering this is a plane crash".

She said it had crash-landed in a field probably about 200m (656ft) from Pitsford School.

Speaking to two people who were on their way to an event, she said they witnessed an air ambulance take off from the scene.

Foster said emergency services had left the crash site by about 19:00.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it had been "notified of an accident involving a light aircraft which occurred near Brixworth".

It added that "an investigation has commenced and inquiries are being made to understand the circumstances which led to the accident".

Northamptonshire fire service said crews were called shortly after 15:45 and "helped to close off nearby roads to ensure emergency vehicles could access the scene".

A spokesperson added that two people were "evacuated from the aircraft" and "left in the care of paramedics".