THE two men who died in a helicopter crash off the Yorkshire coast this week have been named by police.

Captain Brian Bridgman, 58, from Canterbury in Kent, was piloting the helicopter, and John Stephen Kent, 50, from Romford in Essex, was a passenger in the vehicle, which crashed off Flamborough Head on Tuesday.

Their families have been informed and have been offered support from specially trained officers.

The helicopter was returning to an airfield near Retford from an airfield close to Edinburgh at about 1.40pm on Tuesday, when it crashed.

Witnesses reported hearing the engine of the helicopter appear to struggle, before it crashed and ended up in the sea at the base of the cliffs close to Flamborough Head Golf Club.

A large scale search for survivors was launched, with Humberside Police, the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the RAF and coastguard in attendance, and the bodies of Captain Bridgman and Mr Kent were recovered at about 5pm.

Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash by the Air Accident Investigation Branch and Humberside Police, but The Press understands the searches at the base of Flamborough Head were halted yesterday when heavy fog and bad weather led to treacherous conditions.

Searches for wreckage and investigations into the crash are expected to continue today.