Two "exceptionally talented" RAF student pilots died when their plane crashed into a remote field in Ryedale during a civilian incident.

Cameron James Forster, 21, from Burgess Hill, and Ajvir Singh Sandhu, 25, from Essex, were killed as the light aircraft crash landed in a field off Mains Lane, between Castle Howard and the A64, in North Yorkshire.

The incident occurred at around 10.40am on Saturday.

The station commander at Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse, Group Captain Ian Laing, said: "We were very saddened to hear of the deaths of Aj Sandhu and Cam Forster in a civilian flying accident at the weekend.

"They were both exceptionally talented young men in the prime of their lives. The thoughts of everyone at RAF Linton-on-Ouse are with their family and friends at this difficult time".

Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigators continue to probe the cause of the crash.

Speaking at the scene on Saturday, Superintendent Mark Grange, of North Yorkshire Police, said the plane landed more than 200m away from the nearest houses and looked like it had come "straight down".

"It looks like an aircraft, with two wings and a tail fin where it should be. It's in a bad way and it's obviously come down heavily. It's sat on its underside so it has not flipped.

"Whether they tried to land like that I don't know.

"I cannot say where they were going and what they were doing in the air."