A MAN who raised the alarm about a helicopter’s “erratic”

flying hours before it crashed has received an apology from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for not acting on his warnings.

Andrew Carter, who runs Swale View Caravan Park near Richmond, North Yorkshire, was so alarmed by the RAF Puma’s “low and fast”

flying he made three calls to police and RAF staff, but said he was “brushed off” and not taken seriously.

Hours later the RAF Puma – which had flown from RAF Benson, in Oxfordshire, for training exercises at Catterick Garrison – crashed in a field, killing pilot Flight Lieutenant David Sale, 28, from Norton, near Stockton, Sergeant Phillip Burfoot, 27, from Cardiff, and 17-year-old Glaswegian Private Sean Tait.

On the fifth day of the inquest into their deaths, Mr Carter said: “I saw the Puma flying overhead very low and fast.

“Its erratic manner caused me great concern and I made three phone calls – first to police and then to RAF staff.

“I was met with very negative attitudes – not professional at all. My concerns were just brushed off.”

Oliver Sanders, representing the Ministry of Defence, said: “I want to apologise to you, Mr Carter, on behalf of the MoD, if you feel you got the brush-off. In reporting your concerns you did absolutely the right thing.”

Coroner Geoff Fell also heard evidence from residents and visitors to the caravan park, which is next to the River Swale.

Heather Carter-Jones, who lives in a bungalow in the park grounds, said the helicopter was being flown with “selfish recklessness”.

“I was incredibly angry,”

she said. “As a mother, if either of my sons had been on board I would have been absolutely mortified.”

The inquest continues.