The accident happened at about 3.40pm when the aircraft struck a tree on farmland off Hall Lane near the village.

A witness who passed the scene moments after the crash said she saw the pilot, 80-year-old Donald Higgins from nearby Bitteswell Farm, walk from the damaged single-engine plane unhurt.

Jo Williamson, from Fleckney, was returning home after visiting a farm in Bitteswell to do some shopping.

She said: “We were driving along Hall Lane and saw the plane partly sticking out into the road and partly in a hedge.

“The pilot looked to be quite an elderly gentleman but he was walking around and seemed to be unhurt.

“The plane’s wing had come off and there was a smell of fuel so he must have had a very lucky escape. There were a few people from a nearby farm helping him .

Mrs Williamson took photos of the crash scene on her mobile phone.

The plane, which is believed to be worth more than £40,000, and debris including broken tree branches were cleared away soon after the accident.

Traffic was re-directed along Hall Lane while the plane was moved.

A spokesman for the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) said: “We do not send investigators to crash scenes unless there has been a serious injury or fatality.

“We received a report about this accident but the process in cases like this is to send forms to the pilot for them to fill in.

“At this point we do not know any details about the cause of the crash.”

A spokesman for Leicestershire Fire Service said the emergency services had not been notified about the accident.