Watch footage from the crash scene above

Two men had an amazing escape after their helicopter smashed into a grass bank tonight.

The pair, a pilot and his passenger, had been travelling east when they developed engine problems and were forced to ditch the two-seater craft just after 5.30pm.

The pilot skilfully managed to avoid the busy A259 South Coast Road in Peacehaven, eventually grounding the helicopter on its side at the top of a bank.

The aircraft smashed into a garden fence and came to rest just yards from a house in Outlook Avenue.

Both men in the helicopter escaped with just minor bruising and did not need hospital treatment.

Police closed the A259 for an hour after the crash while emergency crews found and made safe the helicopter's engine and fuel tanks.

Long tailbacks of up to two miles long stretched on the A259 in both directions but the congestion had eased by 7pm.

The Civil Aviation Authority has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash Did you see what happened? Leave your comments below and send your pictures to news@theargus.co.uk.