Porthcawl: Aircraft crashes into sea off south Wales coast

An aircraft has crashed into the sea off the south Wales coast.

HM Coastguard was called out on Tuesday morning after reports of a light aircraft going into the sea at Porthcawl, in Bridgend county.

It said the alarm was raised at about 09:20 BST as the pilot was making his way on to dry land.

One person has been taken to hospital for further treatment, the Welsh Ambulance Service said.

The Renegade Spirit biplane was later hauled onto the shore as part of the recovery effort, the coastguard added.

Resident Margaret Kendrick said she looked out of her window to see the upside-down aircraft.

"He was very lucky where it landed, I walked out of my house and saw a red shape," she said.

"Somebody not far away saw it coming down, all of a sudden the plane was quiet and the engine went off."

"There's RNLI boats, the police and a helicopter there - the tide is coming in now," said Ms Kendrick.

"The pilot walked away apparently, he was so close to the rocks - I thought I was seeing things."

James Brown, 75, saw the plane crash while walking on nearby Lock's Common.

The retired church minister said he heard the aircraft's engine "stutter" before the plane "swooped" into the water.

He told the PA news agency: "As I was observing the bay I could hear a fairly low noise of a plane and as I looked to the Swansea direction I saw a light aircraft.

"It was a bright red colour, very visual, and it passed me right by on the edge of the rocks.

"Then three or four seconds later I heard the engine begin to splutter and stutter. As I watched it, the engine died completely and then very rapidly it just swooped right down into the water.

"I couldn't see the exact moment of the crash, but I walked over and could see it had upended, with the nose in the water and the tail sticking up in the air."

Mr Brown described the incident as "a very near miss" and said if the pilot had landed on nearby rocks, it "would have been a very different outcome".

Chris Page, from the RNLI, said the team were "incredibly relieved" to arrive on scene to find the pilot was able to be safely recovered.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was aware of the incident and was investigating.