A MICROLIGHT pilot who crash landed on farmland broke every bone in his face, his wife said.

Builder John Hearle, 46, has had an operation to rebuild his face after the horror collision at Copsters Farm, Mellor, on Saturday night.

His Main Line Sports craft came down and became entangled in foliage separating two fields, partway through a flight from an airfield in Pilling, near Morecambe.

Passenger Reg Coar, 76, of Feniscliffe Drive, Blackburn, sustained serious leg injuries in the crash, which happened around 7pm.

Both were taken to Royal Preston Hospital, where they last night remained in a critical condition.

For John's wife Wendy, 48, of Branch Road, Mellor, it was a "horrible" experience, seeing him lying helpless in intensive care.

She said: "He looks a mess. It was not nice to see him like that and I will be glad when the operation is over with.

"He has broken every bone in his face so they will have to rebuild it, starting with his eye sockets."

Daughter Kerry, 28, said her father was set to have between eight and 10 plates inserted in his face during the operation.

The sports-loving father has been flying microlights for more than 20 years and also enjoys water-skiing and parachuting.

No one has had chance to ask him about the potential causes of the crash as he has been kept in an artificial coma since the accident.

The family faces an anxious wait and was hoping to speak with him properly today when he comes round from surgery.

He will then face another six weeks of intensive recuperation. Because of his condition all his meals will need to be liquidised and doctors will constantly monitor his progress during this time.

An hour before the crash Wendy spoke with John, who told her that there had been a change of plans and he was not going to be able to meet up with her later, at daughter Kerry's home near Blackpool.

The family also had tickets to the Blackburn Rovers-Chelsea FA Cup semi-final clash on Sunday, which he had been looking forward to.

Peter and Hilary Ramsbottom, who live at Ravenswing Barn near the crash site, tended to the pair, along with their niece, nurse Vicky Taylor, until the emergency services arrived.

An investigation has been launched into the crash by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

A spokesperson said: "Both men are too ill to be spoken to at the moment but we will also be looking at weather on the day, the flight plan and the aircraft's history."