CRASH investigators have begun a probe after a paramotor pilot plunged 100ft and crashed in a field near Alresford.

The man, in his 30s, suffered a serious head injury and is believed to be in a stable condition in intensive care at Southampton General Hospital.

Dozens of onlookers at a cricket, beer and balloon festival looked on in horror as he came down in a field near The Goodens, Cheriton.

The pilot narrowly avoided a packed children’s play area and the neighbouring recreation ground where Cheriton Cricket Club was playing Winchester College staff.

The British Handgliding and Paragliding Association confirmed on Tuesday that it had begun an investigation.

Six Winchester firefighters were among the first on the scene and used specialist cutting equipment to release the man — who has not been named — from the wreckage.

Eyewitnesses who saw the accident last Saturday evening at around 6.30pm, said it appeared that the paramotor’s engine suddenly cut out.

Paramotoring is a form of ultra-light aviation where the pilot wears a motor on their back. It provides enough thrust to take off using a parachute style paraglider wing.

Tim Durston, 60, was playing with Cheriton Cricket Club when he saw the paramotor get into trouble.

He described how the pilot took off in a nearby field, but only got as far as the cricket pavilion before turning back.

“He flew around the field a couple of times and then I heard a slight change in the sound of his engine.” he said. “He seemed to be in trouble.

“Part of the end of his paraglider wing seemed to lose the air in it.”

A fellow cricket team-mate — who was batting at the time of the drama — added: “As I looked up at him I thought he looked a bit ill- at-ease and not entirely confident.

“He lost the air in the wing and spiralled down. He would have had a heavy landing.”

Another onlooker said the paramotor pilot regularly took to the skies around Cheriton.

“I saw him take off and fly across. He is here quite a lot.

“It seemed like the wind took his parachute and his engine seemed to falter and he literally went down. I then heard an almighty crash.”

Dean Eldridge, who runs a Curdridge-based paramotor school, said: “We do have some incredible freedom at the moment and we’d like to encourage people to train properly.

“It’s the safest form of motorised aviation, if you take everything into consideration.

“Most of the accidents — around 70 per cent — that happen with our sport happen on the ground, using the propeller.

“Anyone that undertakes any kind of new sport sensibly should find someone who knows about it and can teach you correctly.”

Powered paragliders usually fly between 15-45mph at altitudes of up to 18,000ft, although most flying is done under 500ft.