A PILOT at Blackpool Helicentre has told of his part in the rescue operation in "the worst crash I have seen in 20 years,"

Helicentre chief pilot Geoff Dodd was part of the team which offered invaluable assistance to rescue workers at the site of this week's train tragedy at Hatfield, which killed four people and left more than 100 injured.

The crash happened 14 minutes into the journey of the 12.10pm from Kings Cross to Leeds on October 17.

The Helicentre, based at Blackpool Airport, took an emergency call shortly after the accident and within half an hour had a fleet of three helicopters, led by chief pilot Geoff Dodd, en route to collect special technicians and rail engineers from Jarvis' HQ in York.

Geoff, who has been flying helicopters for nearly 20 years, described it as the worst passenger rail accident he had attended.

"I have been to several derailments over the years, but not on this scale," he said.

"We landed in a field immediately adjacent to the crash scene. "At the time all the pilots were very focused on the job. We were carrying rail engineers and specialist technicians and it was of paramount importance to get these experts on site as quickly and smoothly as possible.

"It was only when I saw the images on television last night that the scale of the tragedy really hit me.

"The area around the crash site was surprisingly quiet -- like a calm after the storm."

Another of the Helicentre's aircraft, a Twin Squirrel helicopter which is fitted with the latest infra-red camera technology and used for specialist heli-survey work, has also been used to survey the site since first light the morning after (October 18).

"This was a terrible tragedy and we were pleased to be able to offer assistance in enabling specialists to get to the site quickly to help out," said Helicentre managing director Geoff Hopkins.

"It highlights the importance of using helicopters to transport key personnel to an accident scene swiftly and efficiently."