Exactly 25 years ago today, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, tragedy struck from the skies above a woodland beauty spot in the county.

At around 5.30pm, the Kent Air Ambulance helicopter exploded over Blue Bell Hill, crashing to the ground and killing all three crew members.

Pilot Graham Budden and paramedics Mark Darby and Tony Richardson, all of whom dedicated their lives to saving others, died instantly.

A quarter of a century later, and their legacy lives on with a dedicated service which commemorates the three men who so cruelly met their fate in isolated woods near Burham.

The aircraft was not on a call-out duty that afternoon and had been deployed to promote the work of the service across the county.

Witnesses reported seeing it plummet and explode into a ball of flames as it crashed to the ground.

Seconds before, motorists on the M2 watched in horror as the helicopter took a sharp turn before dropping from view into Nashenden Valley.

Customers at the nearby Robin Hood pub, a popular haunt with weekend drinkers, noticed how the lights flashed, which would have been the moment it hit an 11,000 volt power cable.

The county was plunged into overwhelming grief as everyone searched for reasons why the devastating catastrophe happened just a minute away from their base at Rochester Airport.

The trio who perished were Rochester man Mark Darby, 37, Tony Richardson, 47, from Maidstone and Graham Budden, 40, from Lingfield, Surrey.

A plaque in their memory has been placed near the picnic area on Blue Bell Hill, between Chatham and Maidstone.

In 2004, a civil case brought by one of the pilot’s widows found the crash was caused by mechanical failure.

At 11am today, a three-minute silence will be held.

Then at 2pm a memorial service takes place at The Collegiate Church of All Saints in Mill Street, Maidstone, led by the Very Rev John Richardson.