A GUITARIST has recalled how he saw the doomed Hawker Hunter jet crash just behind him as he and his bandmates made their way to a gig.

Jasper Vincent, 39, from Telscombe Cliffs, was in the passenger seat four cars ahead of a car that was engulfed in flames on the A27.

He said he had been excited to see the airshow but is now haunted by what he witnessed.

He said: “I was sitting in the passenger seat and I had my head hanging out of the window.

“I was looking upwards at the plane while the others were looking ahead.

“Then I said to the guys, ‘it is really bearing down on us, like it is going to attack us’.

“But I was quite excited and I had no idea it was not planned. I just thought it was flying too low.

“But I expected it to pull up and it just sort of slammed into the road behind us, four or five cars behind us.”

Mr Vincent said after the first impact there was “not a sound but just a huge fireball”.

The guitarist, who plays with covers band the Railing Stains, added: "Then I put my head between my knees and said to the others, ‘speed up – get out of here’.

“It was all so quick.

“The next moment we were being overtaken by the fuselage of the plane and little bits of debris falling all around.

“I thought we had had it. But the driver just floored it and we managed to escape and just carried on going.”

They went back to one of their houses nearby to collect themselves before carrying on to their gig in the Isle of Wight.

He added: “We discussed whether we should stop and help but we knew we were not trained for that kind of thing and we were aware of the amount of emergency services and that we might get in the way.

“We knew how lucky we were but could not feel that happy because of the awful carnage behind us.

“It is very mixed emotions about getting away and being so lucky. I should feel really happy. But My heart goes out to all the people who were not lucky, and their families, especially.

“All the messages I have seen from people on Facebook have helped.”