THE man and woman who died in an air crash at Lymington are believed to have come from the Brighton area.

Mystery surrounds the exact timing of the crash on a field rented by a local farmer from Lord Teynham of Pylewell Estate, South Baddesley.

The wreckage, with the bodies lying nearby, was found in the field off Snooks Lane by a farm worker at about 2pm on Sunday.

A Hampshire Police spokesman said the Baker Banbi fixed wing light aircraft took off from Shoreham Airfield, West Sussex, at 11.36am on Sunday.

Its flight plan showed the Banbi - registration G-TBEE, built by and belonging to an Anthony Baker of Saltdean, Brighton - was being flown to Dunkeswell Airfield at Honiton, Devon.

The man and the woman, believed to be in their late 40s or early 50s, are believed to be from the Brighton area.

Formal identification is expected this afternoon.

The police spokesman said the cordon around the aircraft had been lifted yesterday afternoon.

"Air accident investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Board are continuing their inquiries today to establish the cause of the crash which is still unknown at this stage," she said.

The two-seater kit-built lightweight aircraft in reinforced aluminium and carbon fibre is constructed by French company Dyn'Aero and is officially known as an MCR.01 Banbi.

The crash site is in a field adjoining an aircraft landing strip, part of the former RAF Lymington Aerodrome put in place in the months leading up to D-Day in 1944.

The airstrip still has a World War II blister hangar at its eastern end.

Police would like to hear from any witnesses to the crash.

First published: October 3