A MAN died after his microlight plunged into a field in the Ribble Valley.

The pilot's body was spotted in the tangled wreckage of the microlight by a passer-by just after 4pm yesterday near Dutton, between Hurst Green and Ribchester.

It is believed he had been lying in the field for some time before the wrecked machine was spotted.

Emergency services from Clitheroe were alerted and paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. Air accident investigators were due at the isolated spot today to discover how and when the microlight crashed.

Insp Graham Keyte, of Blackburn Police, said: "We are waiting for an air accident investigation team to reach the scene today and begin their inquiries.

"The microlight came down at an isolated spot and we have no eyewitness reports, as the wreckage was later discovered by a walker.

"The man was not local and we believe he was travelling through the area.

"We are waiting for relatives to identify his body."

The North West Air Ambulance attended the scene, after receiving reports that the crash had just occurred.

Operations manager Paul West said: "We were despatched as soon as the emergency call was received, but when we arrived it was obvious the microlight had been there for some time."

The man, whose name has not been released by police, is believed to have been flying from the Fylde to North Yorkshire through Ribble Valley.

His relatives are thought to be travelling from the south of England today to identify his body, which is at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.