Pilot Killed In Plane Crash At Downside School Near Bath

A man has been killed in a light aircraft crash in the grounds of Downside School, between Stratton-on-the-Fosse and Shepton Mallet.

The four-seater plane came down into trees behind the playing fields shortly before midday.

A spokeswoman from Avon and Somerset Police has said that ambulance crews were on the ground and that the Civil Aviation Agency had been informed of the crash.

The Air Accidents Investigations Branch has sent a specialist team to the scene to investigate.

Andrew Coombes, who has a farm next to the abbey, told the BBC: “It was thick drizzly fog at the time and I heard what sounded like a display stunt team.

“It was a very, very loud intense engine noise like a car door slamming in the distance, then silence.”

Other witnesses have also reported that it sounded like the aircraft was carrying out aerobatics.

Staff at Downside School have said that all the pupils and staff are safe and well.