Air crash memorial fund started

Centrica started the fund with a donation of £25,000

A memorial fund has been set up in memory of the seven men who died in a helicopter crash in the Irish Sea.

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

Centrica, the company which operates the gas field, has started the fund with a donation of £25,000.

Donations will be given to charities chosen by Centrica, in consultation with the families of the men.

Centrica said they were to be a selection of local charities, emergency services funds and other initiatives.

Details of the chosen causes will be listed at the fund's website once they are agreed.

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.