A PILOT and his passenger escaped with minor injuries when their light aircraft crashed in a field near Old Sarum Airfield this afternoon.

The aircraft crashed at about 2.25pm and was found on its roof in a pig farm field at the end of the runway.

A rapid response vehicle was first on the scene, backed up by two ambulance crews and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance but both men were out of the aircraft and were not seriously injured.

The men, believed to be in their 40s and 50s, suffered shock and minor cuts to their heads and faces. They were both taken to Salisbury District Hospital for further treatment.

Matt Baskerville, a paramedic on board the air ambulance, said: “It appears the aircraft’s engine cut out as it was coming in to land. It came down in the field of an adjacent pig farm and flipped onto its roof.

“Clearly the incident could have been far more serious, but both men have fortunately suffered only minor injuries although they were understandably shaken by their ordeal.”