A POPULAR builder who died when a vintage plane crashed in a Dorset field had been bought the flight as a gift from his family, an inquest heard.

Peter Stacey from Shaftesbury was the front seat passenger in a Tiger Moth biplane which plummeted to the ground shortly after take-off from Compton Abbas airfield in August 2017.

Members of his family were at the scene at the time of the tragedy.

The plane was piloted by Christopher Harvey Nicholls, a Blandford man with 47 years experience as a professional pilot.

He was working for DH Heritage Limited at the time of the accident.

Both men died when the plane became engulfed in flames.

Assistant Dorset Coroner Stephen Nicholls, sitting with a jury, is examining the circumstances of the crash at the Bournemouth inquest, set to last for around a week.

On the first day of the hearing a jury of seven men and four women were told they will hear from around 20 witnesses including representatives of the emergency services, doctors and air accident investigators.

The pilot’s son, Matthew Nicholls, said his father had a life-long love of flying which started when he joined the Air Cadets as a teenager.

He joined the RAF at the age of 18 and was based with 30 Squadron at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

Mr Nicholls, who was 64-years-old at the time of his death, also worked for British Air Ferries and British Midland before landing a dream job with prestigious airline Cathay Pacific where he was a Captain flying Boeing 747 aircraft for 14 years.

In later years he worked as a simulator instructor at Bournemouth Airport and flew Tiger Moth experience flights for 10 years.

He was a keen sailor and member of Lymington Town Sailing Club and lived in Blandford.

Mr Stacey, 67, lived in Shaftesbury all his life and worked as a labourer. He had jobs with the water board and Southern Electricity Board and was a keen footballer, boxer and golfer.

He was well-known and 450 people attended his funeral.

Opening the inquest, the coroner said: “The experience was purchased as a present. Mr Stacey and members of his family went to Compton Abbas airfield and the weather was fine and dry.”

He said there was a pre-flight briefing before the plane took off and urged jurors to keep an open mind throughout the hearing.

The inquest continues.