TWO people died this morning when their light aircraft crashed in a field near Malton, North Yorkshire.

Emergency services rushed to the scene - off Mains Lane, in the Ryedale area between Castle Howard and the A64, at around 10.40am.

North Yorkshire Police said this afternoon: "We can now confirm that two men, the pilot and passenger, died in the light aircaft crash".

Superintendent Mark Grange said the plane landed more than 200m away from the nearest houses and was still mostly intact.

"It looks like it came straight down," he said.

"It looks like an aircraft, with two wings and a tail fin where it should be. It's in a bad way and it's obviously come down heavily. It's sat on its underside so it has not flipped.

"Whether they tried to land like that I don't know.

"I cannot say where they were going and what they were doing in the air.

"The fire service attended the scene just to make sure the area is safe because of worries about the amount of fuel - they have declared it safe."

He added that paramedics declared the two men dead at the scene and gave no more details about them.

"We are still out trying to locate family to inform them of what's happened," Mr Grange said.

One eyewitness reported that the plane appeared to be attempting a crash landing between Whitwell-on-the-Hill and Welburn

Air crash investigators have been sent to the scene, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

Roads in the area have been closed to allow emergency services to deal with the incident and police cordoned off the scene to preserve it for the AAIB.

It is not likely to be lifted until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Roads in the area have been closed to allow emergency services to deal with the incident and members of the public are advised to keep away from the area."

Up to 20 firefighters attended the scene and set up a foam blanket around the aircraft in case it caught fire, a North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said.

"We have sent three appliances and one incident support unit with its own appliance.

"They are assisting police and have set up the external foam equipment around the perimeter."

An air ambulance and a land ambulance were also sent to the crash site, a Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokeswoman said.

Members of the public are advised to keep away from the area, especially the area around Whitwell and Welburn.