AN inquest heard that it was not known who was at the controls of a helipcopter which crashed, killing three people including a former Bury man.

An inquest heard that Wayne Burgess (32), who used to live in Heap Bridge, was killed in the crash on Bolton Moorland along with Neil Waterfall (38) and James Roe (40) both from Derbyshire.

It came after the Robinson R44 aircraft they were travelling in got into difficulties as it travelled from Blackpool to Coventry, smashing into Anglezarke Moor.

The inquest heard that it is not known who was at the controls at the time of the accident on February 1 this year. The court was told the pilot inadvertently flew into cloud and became disorientated.

Instead of turning towards low ground the helicopter headed toward higher terrain, before eventually coming down on the moorland, prompting a desperate search helped by members of Bolton Mountain Rescue team.

The court heard that all three men died after suffering multiple injuries.

Seconds before the aircraft came down, the pilot told air traffic controllers: "We're in trouble."

Nothing more was heard from the helicopter crew by members of a radar team at Warton air control in Lancashire. Mr Burgess, a former employee of printing firm Redfern Flexpack, had left Bury seven years ago to take up a job as a warehouse manager in the West Midlands.

He later gained his helicopter pilot's licence and worked full time for Coventry Helicopter Centre as a flight control manager. Mr Waterfall was also a pilot.

The inquest came three months after Air Accident Investigators published their findings into the fatal crash, which concluded it was unlikely that technical failure had contributed to the crash.

The inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.