Rally champion feared killed in crash

Fears were growing for Scottish rally driver Colin McRae on Saturday night after a helicopter crashed on land near his home.

The 39-year-old is a licensed pilot and owns a helicopter, which he flies in the area. But Strathclyde Police said they were unable to confirm how many people were on board the aircraft which went down at Jerviswood, about one mile north of Lanark, at 4.10pm.

Campbell Roy, a member of McRae's management team, told the Sunday Mail: "I haven't had anything confirmed and at the moment it's speculation. I'm waiting to speak to the family to find out exactly what's happened."

A force spokeswoman would only confirm that one person was feared dead in the accident, although reports claimed that two people were on board.

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that its own helicopter had been despatched to the scene along with three ambulance crews.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade also had units in attendance at the scene.

A spokesman for the RAF confirmed that the helicopter was not a military aircraft but one of its own helicopters was on stand-by to assist.

The helicopter did not come from either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport, according to a spokesman for the British Airports Authority.

A Strathclyde Police spokeswoman said officers were trying to establish who was on board and where the helicopter was travelling to and from.

She said: "The damage has been so bad that we don't know how many people were on board. It might be one, it might be more. We just don't know at the moment."