UK police confirm three crash deaths

British Transport Police today confirmed that three people died in yesterday's light aircraft crash near Stafford.

Officers said inquiries had established that a pilot and two passengers were on board the plane when it came down at Little Haywood.

The two passengers were a married couple with two children, police said.

Police initially said that at least two people had been killed when the plane, the remains of which have yet to be removed by air accident investigators, crashed beside a railway junction close to a housing estate.

The accident on the major rail route between London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly yesterday sparked severe disruptions for travellers heading home after the Christmas break.