POLICE, ambulance and fire crews spent an hour and a half searching for a microlite a motorist reported seeing going down near the M4.

The woman called the emergency services from the motorway, at about 8pm on Monday.

However, at 9.30pm the search was called off after failing to locate the aircraft.

Insp Ken Forey, at the police control room in Devizes said:"We believe what happened was that the motorist saw a small aircraft, and there was smoke from a small fire on the ground behind it.

"From the motorist's point of view, it would have looked like the plane was coming down."

The call was received by ambulance control in Chippenham, who sent out paramedics, and contacted the police and fire brigade.

Insp Forey said the force helicopter was scrambled from Devizes to circle above the M4, on the lookout.

At the same time, two fire engines from Chippenham were sent out.

After receiving more information, the fire engines were told to search the roads around Burton, Castle Combe, Grittleton and Hullavington.

Insp Forey said the police called off the search shortly after 9pm.

"We didn't find anything and we are fairly happy that there was not an aircraft going down," he said.

Fire crews carried on looking for another half an hour.

"There was no confirmed address so we had to keep looking," said Acting Sub-Officer Darren Nixon, of Chippenham Fire Station.

"Unfortunately it was one of those occasions where someone put two and two together and came up with the wrong number."