Shoreham air crash victims could rise to 20

As many as 20 people may have died in the Shoreham air crash on Saturday, police have said, as calls grow for the rules governing air shows to be tightened.

The Guardian reports that police will begin lifting the wreckage of the 1950s Hawker Hunter, which plummeted on to the A27 after it failed to pull out of a loop manoeuvre during an aerial display.

Eleven people are so far feared to have died, but Asst Ch Con Steve Barry of Sussex police said this figure could rise further.

“To give people a sense of scale and also the number of people we are trying to work with in terms of the movements of their loved ones, then I would be really surprised if it would be more than 20,” he said.

Questions remain over whether the aerobatic display should have taken place next to a busy road. John Tuner, head of the British Air Display Association, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the crash was “absolutely tragic” but said authorities should make sure we understand why it occured before changing regulations.

Victims have so far been identified as 23-year-old footballers Matthew Grimstone, and Jacob Schilt, as well as 24-year-old personal trainer Matt Jones.