A light plane has crashed in rural Canterbury, but the pilot escaped without injury.

Emergency services were called to Station Road, Kirwee, about 10.20am on Tuesday after reports of a hard landing involving a small aircraft carrying a single occupant.

The aircraft came down in a paddock near an airstrip in Aylesbury, ending up upside down on the other side of a hedge.

Senior Sergeant Hamish Keer Keer of Canterbury Police said no serious injuries had been reported.

“Police are assisting the Civil Aviation Authority, which has been notified,” Keer Keer said.

Three fire crews from Kirwee, Burnham and Rakaia attended the crash.

A witness told chrislynchmedia.com: “There is a light plane that has come down in a paddock next to us. It is upside down on the other side of the hedge from an airstrip on Station Road in Aylesbury.”

The witness said the pilot was uninjured.