An aircraft pilot and his passenger walked away unscathed after their plane crashed in countryside near Banbury.

Fire crews were called to the field at West End, Hornton, at 3.40pm yesterday after the single-engined aircraft crashed into a tree.

The plane was seriously damaged with a slight fuel leak from one of the fuel tanks.

The uninjured pilot and passenger managed to get out of the plane without any help.

Firefighters from Banbury, Deddington, Hook Norton, Kidlington and Wheatley attended, with a fire crew from Fenny Compton in Warwickshire.

Firefighters stopped the fuel leak and took advice from the Air Investigation Branch of the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure the aircraft was made safe before leaving the scene.

Station manager Paul Debling, of Oxfordshire Fire Service, said: “The pilot and his passenger were very lucky to be able to walk away uninjured and the outcome could so easily have been far worse.”

Thames Valley Police is coordinating the investigation into the crash.