TELEVISION gardener Alan Titchmarsh watched horrified from the ground as a helicopter carrying his film crew crashed yesterday.

The Jet Ranger aircraft came down near Once Brewed, just outside Haltwhistle, Northumberland.

Four people, including the pilot, a cameraman and producer, were on board when the helicopter crashed.

Three people, described as "walking wounded" by a North East Ambulance Service spokesman, were taken to Hexham General Hospital suffering from minor injuries. Another was treated at the scene.

The Ground Force host's agent, Annie Sweetbaum, said he was "absolutely fine", but had seen the aircraft come down and gave a statement to police.

Mr Titchmarsh, 54, and the crew were filming Hadrian's Wall for a natural history programme called Britain Through Time.

John Arnold, of Northumberland Fire and Rescue, said a storm could have been to blame. "The storm did appear very quickly and may have had a contributory factor, but it is too early to tell," he said.