Tory peer among four killed in helicopter crash

An inquest is due to open today into the deaths of four men killed in a helicopter crash in Norfolk.

Lord Ballyedmond, Declan Small, Carl Dickerson and Lee Hoyle died when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed at Gillingham near Beccles last Thursday.

The wreckage of a helicopter that crashed in Norfolk killing all four people on board has been removed from the scene. The Augusta Westland came down in thick fog on Thursday (13 March) night at Gillingham near Beccles. Kate Prout reports.

The wreckage from the Gillingham helicopter crash is taken away for further investigation.

Norfolk police have officially named all four people killed when a helicopter crashed near Beccles on Thursday.

As well as the owner of the helicopter and nearby Gillingham Hall, Lord Ballyedmond, on board were Declan Small, and pilots Carl Dickerson and Lee Hoyle.

Air accident investigators have spent the day at the crash site in the village of Gillingham, as Kate Prout reports.

The Prime Minister has paid tribute to Lord Ballyedmond, who died in a helicopter crash in Norfolk.

David Cameron said: “Lord Ballyedmond was a towering figure in Northern Irish business life, and passionate about peace and good relations north and south, east and west.

"He was a larger than life figure who was a great supporter of the Conservative party and a good friend to me.”

It's not known how long air accident investigators will need to study the scene of the crash.

But questions will need to be answered into why the helicopter came down at Gillingham.

ITV News Anglia's Jim Rice has been looking at the safety of helicopters after the second crash in Norfolk this year.

Click below to watch his report.

Lord Ballyedmond was 70-years old and one of the richest men in Northern Ireland. He leaves behind a wife and three children.

ITV News Anglia's Natalie Gray looks at his life and his legacy. Click below to watch her report.

Tonight the bodies of the four men who died in last night's helicopter crash, have been removed from the wreckage.

ITV News Anglia's Malcolm Robertson has spent the day at the crash site and has sent this report on the events of last night and today. Click below to watch his report

Suffolk Police have now stood down their involvement in the crash scene and the investigation is now in the hand of air accident investigation teams.

The sensitive task of removing the bodies of the four men who died in the helicopter crash at Gillingham in Norfolk, has begun.

The helicopter came down last night on its way from Gillingham Hall to Northern Ireland.

The owner of the Hall, Lord Ballyedmond, died in the crash along with three colleagues.

ITV News Anglia's Tanya Mercer has been at the scene of the crash all day for us and sent this report.