TWO helicopters made forced landings in Sidmouth on Friday because of sea fog.

TWO helicopters made forced landings in Sidmouth on Friday because of sea fog.

One, owned by Sky Charter UK Ltd of Whitstable, Kent, is leased to Atlas Helicopters of Lee-on-Solent, whose pilot was transporting a male client when it was forced to land on Sidmouth Cricket Club's pitch for around 45 minutes until the fog cleared.

"It did land because the weather was pretty bad, for safety reasons, and we arranged ground transportation for the passenger and then flew back to base," said a spokeswoman for Atlas.

She said the terms of their contract with the passenger meant she could not say who was travelling in the helicopter.

"It was not a celebrity or a businessman," she added.

Cricket club groundsman Colin Whitewell said: "I only knew about the helicopter because someone told me. I was at Bicton at the time. There was no damage caused (to the pitch).