A pilot crashed his plane into a house after running out of fuel because he blundered when converting gallons into litres, a court heard.

Brain surgeon Donald Campbell's hired Piper Seneca plane plunged from the sky straight into a semi-detached home near Shoreham airport just minutes after the woman owner popped out to collect her two children from school.

Stunned Helen Monahan returned to find her house in West Street demolished after the 54-year-old neurosurgeon crash-landed in February 2001.

At the first day of Campbell's trial Mrs Monahan, an accountant, said: "I heard this almighty bang and I carried on walking because I couldn't see anything.

"I was going to pick the children up from school. It is very nearby. When I got to the top of the road people were running in the opposite direction.

"When I got to the playground I was told a plane had hit my house. I panicked and was worried the house was on fire and I told my friend to take the children because I didn't want them to see it.

"It was utter chaos. All the emergency services were there and there was no roof. My house had been destroyed."

Miss Monahan told the court one of her two children, then aged six and five, had had his birthday party the day before.

She said: "All his birthday presents had been destroyed. It was just a mess everywhere. We weren't allowed to go in there for over a year."

Phillip Shepherd QC, prosecuting, told Chichester Crown Court the accident happened because Campbell had blundered when converting US gallons to litres when he filled the US-made light aircraft with fuel.

He said: "If nothing else, the Monahans can be eternally thankful for the fact that five minutes earlier Mrs Monahan had left the house to collect her children.

"But they have nothing else to thank him for because the family home was destroyed.

"The plane ran out of fuel because the accused negligently failed to ensure there was enough fuel to fly from Sheffield, where he took off from, to his destination, which was Shoreham airport.

"Not only was there not enough fuel for that flight, there was not a drop in reserve. That was a disaster."

Mr Shepherd explained before setting off Campbell put 90 litres of fuel into the plane - which is 23 US gallons. But the plane needed 30 US gallons - or 113.5 litres.

The court heard Campbell had flown to Sheffield city airport on the morning of the crash and it was on the return journey that he plunged into the house a "very short distance" from Shoreham airport.

Mr Shepherd added: "This is not the case of a sudden mechanical failure. He just ran out of fuel. There are no petrol stations in the sky.

"It would be bad enough to run out of fuel on the fast lane of the motorway but it is unforgivable when you are flying over a residential area."

Campbell had called Air Traffic Control minutes before the crash to say he had a slight problem with the port side engine, the jury was told.

"About a minute and a half later he says he is going to try to make it straight into landing," said Mr Shepherd. "The aircraft then disappears from radar."

Campbell, 54, from Battle, East Sussex, denies endangering the safety of an aircraft and endangering the safety of any person or property.

The trial continues.