Candles flicker mournfully for two lives suddenly extinguished when a helicopter crashed on what was supposed to be routine ten minute flight.

Devoted family man Douglas Learwood and draughtsman Stuart Coggan, both from Teesside died when a shuttle helicopter crashed into the sea off the Norfolk coast in July this year.

The two who only lived a mile apart, one in Nunthorpe, the other at Marton, Middlesbrough, were among nine off shore workers and two crew who died because a main rotor blade fractured, causing the Sikorsky S-76A shuttle helicopter to plummet into the North Sea.

The blade had been hit by lightning in 1999 and showed evidence of fatigue, said a report into the crash.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham James told 1,500 relatives, friends and colleagues of the crash victims at a memorial service held at Norwich Cathedral, yesterday, that the accident was a reminder of how fragile life was.

"Today we are reminded that our hold on life is fragile,'' said the bishop. "Those who died in this disaster were in the prime of life - vigorous, strong, active people. They still had life ahead of them, as we say. Yet they were also fragile - just like all of us.''

Mr Learwood, a Shell instrument technician died because he had chosen to come home a week early to spend more time with his wife, Belinda, and their sons Joshua and Benjamin.

Mrs Learwood said at the time, of her former police officer husband: "I have lost my soulmate and best friend, and the boys an irreplaceable role model and fantastic dad.''

Mr Coggan was an Amec engineering draughtsman.

Yesterday's memorial service was transmitted live to rigs operated by Shell.

During the service a friend or colleague of each man lit a candle in his memory, taken from a flame of the Easter candle.

The other victims of the crash were Kevin Taylor, 50, Philip Stone, 53, pilot Philp Wake, 42, co-pilot Philip Dearden, 32, Paul Francis, 48, and Geoffrey Bispham, 51, all from Norfolk; David Graves, 33, from Suffolk, Angus MacArthur, 38 from Ross-shire, Scotland and Denis Kelleher from Lancashire.