Plane crash-lands in garden

Two men escaped serious injury when their light aircraft crashed in a garden, police in England have said.

The Cessna 172 crashed in the garden of a home in Kent after taking off from Rochester Airport yesterday.

Emergency services attended after the aircraft crash-landed at the home off Stone Street in Farthing Common, Lyminge, in Folkestone, Kent, at 3.15pm.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said the pilot was from Maidstone, Kent, and the passenger was from Cranbrook, Kent.

The pair were taken to William Harvey Hospital in Ashford for treatment for minor injuries, but they were not believed to be seriously hurt, police said.

It is not known why the aircraft crashed or how the pair escaped unharmed.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has been informed.

Two fire crews from Folkestone, plus a water and foam unit from Ashford were alerted and dealt with the fuel spillage. No one else was injured.

EDF Energy representatives were also called out to secure damaged electricity cables.

Eileen Watling, 71, who lives with her husband Alfred, 83, at the property where the plane crash landed, said: “It was so sudden, we’d just started watching a film when there was an almighty crash. We thought the house had collapsed.

“I looked out of the window and saw the conifers had come down and there were no electricity lines. Then I saw the plane.”

The two-seater aircraft narrowly missed a neighbour’s house opposite, before hitting power cables and crashing into trees next to the couple’s garage, just metres from their bungalow.

She said: “When the pilot came out he was covered in blood, then the passenger came down out of the trees. I managed to get them into the conservatory and got a towel to stop the bleeding from the pilot’s head.

“He said: ’I’m so sorry to do this to you’ and I said: ’Not to worry, your health is more important.”

It is thought the plane may have been travelling too low due to the foggy conditions.

Mrs Watling added: “They were flying at 500ft, we’re 600ft up here, but because of the fog blanket they didn’t see what the problem was.”

Emergency services arrived within minutes and police cordoned off the crash scene.

Representatives from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch are due to take the aircraft away tomorrow morning (Monday, February 25).

Mrs Watling added: “We realise how lucky we’ve been. The plane was 10ft from our neighbour’s house. If it had hit them first, it could have exploded. Somebody was looking out for us.”