Three dead in light aircraft crash

Officers said inquiries had established that a pilot and two passengers were on board the plane when it came down at Little Haywood, near Stafford.

Two of the victims - understood to be a man and a woman - have yet to be identified, but the plane's pilot has been named by family and friends as 59-year-old Alan Matthews, from Walsall, West Midlands.

Police initially said that at least two people had been killed when the plane, the remains of which have yet to be removed by air accident investigators, crashed beside a railway junction close to a housing estate.

Chief Inspector Paul Richards, of British Transport Police, confirmed that the remains of the aircraft - which struck overhead power lines - would be removed from the scene on Saturday.

Speaking at a cordon set up less than 50 yards from the crash site, the officer said: "A comprehensive search of the site is under way and arrangements will then be made to remove the wreckage."

Mr Richards said experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch were examining the site and had "primacy" in the inquiry.

Mr Matthews' wife, Jenny, said her husband had 19 years of flying experience and it was thought he had arranged to go flying with a work colleague and possibly another person.

The aircraft is believed to have been a Piper Cherokee based at the Sittles Flying Club, which operates from an airfield near Fradley, Staffordshire.

Members of the club paid tribute to Mr Matthews as a "nice chap" with many years of experience as a pilot.