Service marks air ambulance crash

The helicopter was almost completely destroyed in the crash

A memorial service has been held at Rochester Cathedral to remember the three people killed in the Kent Air Ambulance crash 10 years ago.

Paramedics Tony Richardson, 47, and Mark Darby, 37, and pilot Captain Graham Budden, 40, died instantly when the helicopter crashed on 26 July 1998.

The ambulance collided with power lines before bursting into flames in a field in Buham near Rochester airport.

It is the only fatal crash involving an air ambulance in England.

'Three brave men'

In a statement the families said: "Our loss was a very public one and we were touched by the tremendous outpouring of grief from the public.

"We will never forget our loved ones and this Thanksgiving Service is an opportunity to celebrate the lives of three brave men, 10 years on."

The service at midday was also attended by Kent Air Ambulance crews past and present, the South East Coast Ambulance Service, and representatives from other emergency services.

In 2004 the High Court ruled the aircraft suffered mechanical failure and that Mr Budden was not to blame.

Completely destroyed

At the time of the incident air accident investigators were unable to establish the cause of the crash because the helicopter was almost completely destroyed when it exploded on impact.

Linda Budden, from Surrey, brought the civil action after her husband's employers denied liability.

Mr Budden was a former RAF pilot who had flown Sea King helicopters in the Falklands.

Mr Darby had been with the ambulance service for about nine years and Mr Richardson had joined in 1982.

A memorial stone was erected on Bluebell Hill close to the site of the crash.