The horrifying moment a helicopter flipped over as it attempted to take off has been captured on film.
Miraculously no one was injured as the chopper ended up on its rotas following the botched manoeuvre near Hinckley, Leicestershire shortly before 4pm yesterday.
The blue aircraft can be seen lifting off briefly then moving backwards slightly, before suddenly flipping over.
LeicestershireLive reports the pilot escaped without injury.
An onlooker told us: "I was watching the helicopter taking off as it's not something you see every day.
"As it tried to leave the ground part of it got stuck, which caused it to spin and flip, it made a very loud crashing sound.
"It's very fortunate that nobody was seriously injured.
"The response of the emergency services was phenomenal."
A woman who was nearby when it happened posted on social media that she was “absolutely terrified” as her children were playing a few yards away from where debris landed.
The frightened mum wrote: “Too close for comfort this!
"My children were playing a few yards away the other side of this hedge where debris landed! Absolutely terrifying!!"
Another person wrote: “This flew over us at Ashby road twice earlier this afternoon and I said it sounded a bit ropey!!!”
Someone else posted: “Saw this coming over Swallows green this afternoon around 245 ish. Seemed to be loosing (sic) power... “
A further poster wrote: “ Bloomin (sic) heck lucky it hasn't hit any houses.”
Another added: “Good piloting for landing it there and not on someones house.”
Two fire crews from Hinckley and a technical rescue team from Leicester’s Southern fire station went to the scene.
A Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “We were called at 15.46 to Shilton Road, in Barwell.
“The call came in to us with a report that a helicopter had flipped over.
“The pilot was out and okay before we got there. There was no fire situation and no fuel leak."
The last appliance left the scene at 5.38pm.
