Light aircraft in crash drama after attempting to land at stately home

The drama occurred at 8.10am when the 67-year-old pilot of a 31-year-old seven-seater Piper Navajo came in to land at the Grade 1 listed country house, Wentworth Woodhouse's runway.

The plane had been involved in an accident before on December 6, 2002 at a private airstrip in Peterborough.

Peter Rowland, watch manager at Tankersley Fire Station, said: "Basically he has overshot the runway possibly due to the very wet conditions. He has clipped the boundary wall and caused quite a lot of damage to the left wing.

"There was a worry that police could smell aviation fuel so we put a blanket of fire-suppressant foam on the under side of the aeroplane. The pilot was fine and there were no injuries. Workers on the estate moved it using tractors to a safe area.''

A South Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: "Witnesses said they saw a plane attempting to land in a field near Hague Lane. It seems that as it landed the wing clipped the boundary wall of Hague Lane.

"Hague Lane and Scholes Lane were closed for a few hours while the plane was pulled away from the road.''

The aircraft is registered to an owner in Peterborough.