Funeral held of plane crash pilot

Mr Rhodes was piloting a light aircraft bound for France

The funeral is to take place of a pilot who died with three other people when his plane crashed on the Isle of Wight.

Martin Rhodes, 48, from Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, died when aircraft crashed into a field shortly after take-off at the airport at Sandown.

Simon Marshall, 51, Tony Birch, 52, and his son Ryan, all from the West Midlands, were also killed in the 5 August crash.

The funeral of Mr Rhodes is to be held at St Andrew's Church, Sneyd Green.

He had built up a car repair business from the age of 19 and spent "as much time at the controls of his planes as possible," his partner, Kerry Raftery, said.

The Piper Cherokee had flown from Tatenhill Airfield in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, on the morning of the crash.

The aircraft was leaving the Isle of Wight Airport bound for Pontivy Airfield in Brittany, France, when it came down near Canteen Road, Apse Heath.

Mr Marshall came from Lichfield, Staffordshire, and Mr Birch from the village of Pattingham near Wolverhampton.