The pilot of a vintage Spitfire has survived an emergency landing in a field in Kent.
Emergency services were called at about 9.45am when the plane – manufactured between 1938 and 1948 and widely used by the Royal Air Force during the second world war – went down in Woodchurch near Ashford.
The pilot had already freed himself from the aircraft when the emergency services arrived and there were no casualties, but firefighters remained at the scene to tackle a large leak of aviation fuel.
The incident comes just over two weeks after a Hawker Hunter jet designed in the late 1940s crashed at Shoreham airshow, killing 11 people.
Plane down Woodchurch, Ashford pilot OK.@kentonline @ashfordherald pic.twitter.com/w83gqUyCa7
— Liz King (@LizTriSpirit) September 7, 2015
The pilot was treated at the scene and was not taken to hospital, according to a spokeswoman for South East Coast ambulance service, which deployed an ambulance, a hazardous area response team and an air ambulance.
The Environment Agency and the Civil Aviation Authority were alerted to the incident by Kent police.
A statement from the Kent fire and rescue service said: “Emergency services were called to an incident involving a Spitfire plane, following an emergency landing.
“The pilot was already out of the plane when fire crews arrived. He was assessed by paramedics at the scene.
“Firefighters remain in attendance, making the scene safe, and are dealing with a leak of a large quantity of aviation fuel. There are no further casualties and the cause of the crash is not yet known.”
