One killed as aircraft hits tree

One person was killed when a light aircraft crashed in a village and narrowly missed a row of houses, police said.

Emergency services went to the scene at Aldham near Hadleigh, Suffolk, after a member of the public called police reporting that the plane had crashed into a tree and then became submerged in a pond.

Dennis Hill, who owns a property near the crash site, said the plane narrowly missed his house and several others as it plunged to the ground.

He said: "The plane flew across the fields and into the tree, before falling into the pond. My sons went to investigate, but our property was not damaged and it crashed two or three properties up from ours. The police and reporters are all still down there."

Mr Hill, who runs the Rose and Crown Inn in nearby Elmsett, added: "I think the pilot died on impact. There's an airfield nearby, but he was way off track. It's like he was trying to land, but you've got fields and hedges in the way. We lost our electricity for about 30 minutes, but it's still off in Aldham."

The crash occurred near Aldham Street, a short distance from Elmsett Airfield. It is not clear whether there were any further casualties.

Air accident investigators are at the scene.

An area around the location has been cordoned off, and police, fire and ambulance emergency services remain at the scene.

Details of the aircraft, pilot and any other persons on board are unknown.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) spokesman said: "The AAIB is aware of the incident and has sent a team to investigate the light aircraft accident near Ipswich."