A HELICOPTER owned by a Clitheroe firm made an emergency landing in a field just 300 yards from where millionaire football tycoon Matthew Harding was killed in a crash two years ago.

The aircraft, owned by Griffair Helicopter Services of Bolton-by-Bowland, was on a routine flight from Cambridge to Clitheroe when the incident occurred in the early evening.

Eye-witnesses spotted the helicopter coming down from the skies and ending up in a field in Stanthorne near Middlewich.

The aircraft landed just fields away from the scene of the Harding crash which killed the Chelsea FC vice-chairman and three other men.

Griffair proprietor Roger Griffiths said he brought the aircraft down after realising his temperature gauge was dangerously high.

He managed to bring the helicopter down safely and he and a fellow crew member escaped the landing unharmed.

"It wasn't a huge drama," he said.

"I noticed a high temperature reading and rather than continue the flight decided to land.

"It shows just how safe helicopters are if you can land safely when there's a problem.

"An engineer came and fixed the helicopter, and we flew it back the next day.

"We really could have carried on that night, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

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