Service for victims of 2006 Morecambe Bay helicopter crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-38442866

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A service for seven men who died in a helicopter crash in Morecambe Bay a decade ago has been held.

Five gas rig workers and two pilots were killed when the Eurocopter SA365N went down 25 miles off the coast after leaving Blackpool Airport.

Capt Stephen Potton, 52, of Blackpool, and co-pilot Simon Foddering, 33, from Preston, were among those killed in Lancashire on 27 December 2006.

The service took place at the memorial on the Esplanade in Fleetwood earlier.

The gas workers on board were Robert Warburton, 60, of Heysham, Lancashire; Leslie Ahmed, 48, from South Shields, Tyneside; John Shaw, 51, from Kirkcaldy, Fife; Alfred Neasham, 57, from County Durham, and Keith Smith, 57, from Stockton-on-Tees.

Capt Potton's widow, Sandra said: "It was so tragic. The seven men went out to work one day and didn't come back.

"It has had a big impact. Steve would be really pleased we do remember him and all the other men."

Valerie Neasham, widow of victim Alfred Neasham, said: "It doesn't seem like 10 years, it's hard to comprehend."

The nine lifeboat crews who took part in the rescue operation attended the ceremony.

Captain Dave Eccles, from Fleetwood RNLI, said: "As soon as we got the call we knew it was going to be a big call out.

"Unfortunately there was not a lot we could do."

An inquest in 2009 found the men died as the result of an accident.