A horrified eyewitness has described the terrifying moment a Spitfire crashed into a farmer's field in Kent, just hours before Britain's VE Day celebrations were set to begin.
The World War II-era aircraft was spotted circling over West Hythe at around 7pm on Saturday evening before making an emergency crash landing.
Eyewitness Emily was driving home when she saw the Spitfire in the air moments before it went down. The pilot and passenger miraculously escaped without injury.
Emily, who asked not to share her surname, told KentOnline: “We were on our way home from shopping and saw another Spitfire circling, which we thought was unusual so thought perhaps they’re practising for a VE-Day ceremony."
“We watched that Spitfire for a couple of minutes and it flew off. So we continued driving, and came across the plane which had just crashed. The pilot and passenger were luckily out of the aircraft."
“Bystanders were walking across the field. So we pulled up and then walked across the field ourselves to check everyone was okay."
“We contacted the farmer to make them aware and to get the gate opened.”
Two fire engines attended the incident to help secure the crash site. One individual was handed into the care of South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) paramedics. Fire crews eventually left the scene at around 9pm.
Fly a Spitfire, the company operating the aircraft, confirmed the incident was due to a "precautionary landing."
A spokesperson said: “We are aware of an incident involving one of our Spitfire aircraft in the vicinity of Hythe."
“We have spoken to the pilot who has advised that a precautionary landing was made at a non-airfield site."
“The pilot and passenger are uninjured and at this stage we have no further information.”
The Spitfire involved was originally built in 1943 and served with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 441 Squadron, operating under the RAF during World War II.
The incident comes ahead of Britain's momentous 80th anniversary commemorations of Victory in Europe Day, set to feature a procession of over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.
The celebrations will culminate in a flypast, including a display by the iconic Red Arrows.
A spokesperson for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called to an aircraft that had made an emergency landing."
