The pilot of Oxfordshire's air ambulance has been hailed a hero after steering his stricken helicopter away from a school fete and crash-landing in a front garden.

The life-saving ambulance, which was launched two years ago after a 500,000 appeal, skimmed over the roof of a house, flew between trees and then nose-dived into a front garden.

Flying doctor Simon Brown and paramedic Ian Teague were slightly injured, but the pilot, Steve Farmer, walked away unscathed after the airborne drama on Saturday.

The incident happened after the helicopter, based at White Waltham, near Maidenhead, suddenly lost power as it answered a 999 call in Wokingham, involving a young boy who had fallen 20ft feetout of a tree. The air ambulance, which covers the three counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, skimmed the roof of Malcolm and Jean Woodason's house in Barkham, near Wokingham, and avoidedavoiding the school fete, before crashing into a garden.

Farmer, Mr Woodason, 60, who was gardening at the time of the crash and raised the alarm, said: "The pilot was nothing short of a hero.

"He was losing height fast and the helicopter began plummeting towards the ground. Then there was a loud bang as it smashed through the fence."