A MICROLIGHT pilot died when his aircraft crash landed into power cables in a field at Stourton.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Barratt’s Coppice Farm, Bridgnorth Road, at around 6pm last night.

Despite the efforts of paramedics the male pilot was confirmed dead at the scene.

The crash caused power cuts to hundreds of homes in the area.

Staffordshire Police said they had passed the investigation into the cause of the collision on to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, with a specialist team examining the two-seater aircraft at the site today.

A statement from Staffordshire Police said: “Specially-trained officers will be supporting the man's family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

“No one else was involved in the incident.”

Pensioner Beryl Fisher, who lives opposite the crash site on Bridgnorth Road, said she saw the microlight going overhead shortly before the crash.

She said: “I saw it in the sky - but I didn’t realise it had crashed until later when the electricity went off.”

Neighbour David Higgs said: “Our electricity went off at around 6.30pm - we saw police cars going up the road and my wife saw a helicopter.

“We heard a lot of activity along the road, including an ambulance.

“We phoned the electricity company and they said a microlight had crashed into electricity cables and it had affected 900 homes.

“Eventually the power came back on at around 12.30am.

“It’s very sad - we occasionally see microlights coming over - mainly on weekends.”

Engineers attended the scene last night to repair cables.