Officer tells of Colin McRae crash horror

A POLICEMAN has described to a court the scene of devastation he was confronted with after a helicopter crashed that had been flown by former world rally champion Colin McRae.

Sergeant Robert Logan was giving evidence at the fatal accident inquiry into the crash that claimed the lives of McRae, his five-year-old son Johnny and family friends Ben Porcelli, six, and Graeme Duncan, 37. The aircraft crashed near McRae's Jerviswood mansion in Lanark as he flew home from a friend's farm on 15 September 2007.

Sgt Logan, 43, told the inquiry at Lanark Sheriff Court yesterday that he had been the first person on the scene.

He said: "I arrived with other colleagues but I told them to stay back at first in case there was an explosion. It was quite evident there would be no survivors from the accident. There was a fire still in progress."

Sgt Logan said a firefighter had found a pilot's licence bearing McRae's name in the debris.

The court later heard a statement from forensic pathologist John Clark who had carried out post mortems on the crash victims. The hearing was told traces of alcohol had been detected in McRae's system but further toxicology tests had shown this was likely to have been naturally produced in his body following his death. Dr Clark said: "There was no conclusive evidence that it was caused by ingestion of alcohol prior to death."

The inquiry continues.