A LIGHT aircraft made an emergency landing in an Essex field yesterday afternoon.

The plane made a crash-landing in a field off Warren Lane, South Hanningfield, shortly after 4pm.

Emergency crews spent around an hour trying to find the plane, initially heading to Castleton Road, Billericay.

By the time fire and ambulance crews arrived, the pilot had left the plane.

Essex Police confirmed they had spoken to the pilot and he had not sustained any injuries.

A spokeswoman for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said: “We got called in by the police to reports of a plane down.

“They couldn’t locate it for about an hour due to the nature of the area - there’s lots of open land there.

“When the fire crews got there the pilot was not onboard.

“There’s been reports from the public that they had seen him and he was okay.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “The aircraft made a controlled landing after technical issues. There was no injuries.”

A rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham was also scrambled but it’s unclear what role, if any, it played in the incident.