Two planes came within just six metres of crashing into each other whilst flying over a farm, a report has revealed.

Documents published by the UK Airprox Board (UKAB) show the two light aircraft, a PA 28 and X-Air Falcon, were separated by just 20ft when they flew near Rivenhall last summer.

An investigation launched soon after found the near miss was caused by 'non-sightings' from both pilots and a collision had only been avoided by 'providence'.

Both aircraft were understood to have been flying at approximately 2,000 ft when the the near miss occurred, around 6.31pm on July 18, 2018.

The pilot of the X-Air Falcon had been heading towards Earls Colne when he noticed he had been passed by the other plane and in a report published with investigation findings, the pilot has described the risk of collision in such circumstances as 'high'.

The report goes on to state there were two pilots in the PA28 who were conducting a simulated IMC flight, meaning they were relying on their instruments to fly the aircraft.

One of the pilots was said to be under the hood of the aircraft at the time of the near miss and "did not have the ability to look out effectively” to work out where the other aircraft was.

The report published by UKAB adds: “The Falcon and PA28 pilots shared an equal responsibility for collision avoidance and not to operate in such proximity to other aircraft as to create a collision hazard.

“If the incident geometry is considered as overtaking, then the Falcon pilot had right of way and the PA28 pilot was required to keep out of the way of the other aircraft by altering course to the right.”

UKAB says its findings were based on a mix of personal accounts from the pilots, radar photographs, video recordings and a report from the Air Traffic Control authority responsible for the area.

UKAB is responsible for enhancing air safety in the UK and ensuring lessons are learned from near collisions in the skies.