Parachutist lands on pitch at Salisbury football match

A non-league football match in Salisbury was disrupted on Saturday when a parachutist landed on the pitch.

The game between Salisbury City and Chester at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium was stopped shortly before the final whistle when the male skydiver landed.

The man had been taking part in a charity skydive when he made an emergency landing due to low cloud.

Chester player Danny Higginbotham said it was the "most bizarre" thing he had ever seen on a football pitch.

Writing on Twitter, the defender for the Conference Premier side said: "Half-way through the second half, out of nowhere a parachutist landed on the pitch.

"No idea where he was supposed to land but he hit the ground hard."

Onlooker Joel Holt said when the man landed, there was a "big cheer" from the 900-strong crowd.

He said the man then went round high-fiving people in the crowd before being escorted away.

Mr Holt described the incident as "a shock", and "not something you see every day".

A Salisbury City spokesman said the man was an "experienced skydiver" taking part in the South Coast Skydive in aid of the charity Clic Sargent.

He said the man had dived from 15,000ft, but encountered heavy low cloud so missed the airfield and had to make a quick decision to land on the pitch.

The spokesman confirmed the man was escorted from the ground carrying his parachute, and was interviewed briefly by the police and a match safety officer before leaving without charge.

He said the incident "went down very well" with both sets of fans who "took it in good humour".

The final score of the match was Salisbury 3-1 Chester.