Helicopter crash memorial service

A memorial fund has been set up in memory of those who died

A memorial service has been held for seven men who died in a helicopter crash off the Lancashire coast.

Five gas workers and two pilots were killed when the Eurocopter SA365N went down in Morecambe Bay after leaving Blackpool Airport on 27 December.

Families of the victims attended the service at Lancaster Priory, which was also relayed to workers out on the gas platforms in Morecambe Bay.

An Air Accident Investigation Branch report into the tragedy is ongoing.

The service was led by the Vicar of Lancaster, Reverend Canon Peter Cavanagh and Reverend Andrew Jolly - chaplain to the UK's oil and gas industry.

Preliminary investigation

A memorial fund started by Centrica, the company which operates the gas field, has so far raised about £60,000.

A preliminary Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) report found no evidence of major mechanical failure with the helicopter.

The aircraft was seen to pitch sharply forward and bank to the right seconds before it crashed into the icy waters, the report said.

On board were co-pilot Simon Foddering, 33, from Preston, and helicopter commander Stephen Potton, 52, from Blackpool.

The gas workers on board were Robert Warburton, 60, of Heysham, Lancashire, Leslie Ahmed, 48, from South Shields, Tyneside, John Shaw, 51, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, Alfred Neasham, 57, from County Durham, and Keith Smith, 57, from Stockton-on-Tees.