Ground crews who watched a skydiver drop on to the wing of a glider had tried to warn the pilot and the parachute team, an inquest heard.

The hearing into the deaths of glider pilot Jon Crewe, 69, from Sparsey Place, Cutteslowe, Oxford, and skydiver Phillip Cheasley, 24, of Colliers Wood, south London, was opened in Northampton on Thursday, June 12.

Both men died of multiple injuries after Mr Cheasley smashed into the wing of the glider about 2,000ft above the airfield at Hinton-in-the-Hedges, in June last year.

Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember told the jury that gliding and parachuting organisations used the airfield, near the border between Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, at the same time and that there were agreed procedures between both groups.

But she said that there appeared to be differences in the 'cone of operation', which was intended to ensure the safety of pilots and parachutists.

The jury heard that both men were experienced in the air.

Mr Crewe was a member of the Aquilla Gliding Club at Hinton-in-the-Hedges. A former member of Oxford Sport Flying Club, he had been flying with Aquilla since 1980.

On the day of the accident, Mr Crewe took off at about 1.50pm and climbed to 2,000ft before releasing his tow-rope.

About 10,000ft above the glider, Mr Cheasley had been given the all-clear for a free-fall, but the drop zone controller on the ground noticed Mr Crewe's glider approaching from the north.

Mr Crewe and the jump master on the plane carrying Mr Cheasley were radioed but there was no response from either aircraft.

The inquest continues.