A west Oxfordshire glider pilot was killed when he baled out seconds after a mid-air collision yesterday lunchtime.

Gordon Camp, 56, of Lidstone, near Chipping Norton, jumped from his damaged glider at 3,000ft and plunged to the ground after his parachute failed to open.

Mr Camp, a former RAF Squadron Leader who was employed by the Ministry of Defence, was taking part in a nine-day gliding competition at the Bidford Gliding Centre.

The other pilot, David Williams, 36, of Wokingham, Surrey, who also baled out, suffered leg and back injuries in the accident near the village of Bickmarsh, in Worcestershire.

Police said his parachute had partially opened.

He was airlifted to Redditch's Alexandra Hospital where he is being treated for his injuries. Both men were members of Bidford Gliding Club.

A spokesman for the Bidford regional gliding competition said: "We are all very shocked. Gordon was a very experienced glider pilot and had been flying them for more than 30 years."

Up to 18 gliders were believed to have been in the air when the accident happened.

A police spokesman said: "We received a report of two gliders colliding.

"The two men were seen to leave their aircraft but tragically it appeared that one parachute failed to open."

Air accident investigators from the British Gliding Association later arrived at the scene of the crash to establish exactly what happened.

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