FIREFIGHTERS rushed to the New Forest after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing.

The light aircraft made what the pilot described as “a text book landing” when the engine cut out and the aircraft was forced to land in a remote area of the Forest on Sunday morning.

The single seater Team Minimax aircraft was on its way from Farley to Poole when it lost power between Hale Purlieu and Godshill, near Fordingbridge. The pilot, Mr Shepherd of Romsey, made the landing on the heather at Turf Hill, some distance from Roger Penny Way, without causing any damage to his aircraft or injury to himself.

“This could not be described as a ‘lucky escape’ but a safe and controlled touch down,” said Mr Shepherd.

Fire crews from Fordingbridge and Ringwood were sent as a precaution and after dismantling the aircraft’s wings from the fuselage, the firefighters brought the three sections to Deadman’s Corner by the B3078.