SHOCKED friends and neighbours of a Gwent pensioner killed in an air crash described him as a "popular" man who was "full of fun".

Retired businessman Stuart Kingsbury, 73, of Pisgah Hill, Talywain, died after the Cessna Aerobat light aircraft he was a passenger in crashed 2,000 feet up a mountainside between Bangor and Bethesda, North Wales.

The pilot, named locally as Brian Vaux, 60, of Queen Street, Pontypool, is in a critical condition in Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.

North Wales Police and air accident investigators have been piecing together clues at the crash site in the Ogwen Valley.

The Cessna took off from Caernarfon on its return flight to Shobdon, Herefordshire, coming down at about 5.30pm on Monday. It is thought the plane may have clipped the top of the mountain and flipped over.

Mr Kingsbury's family were too distressed to speak last night, but friends said they were stunned by the news of his death.

Nerissah Watkins, 73, of Pisgah Road, who was a friend of former RAF serviceman Mr Kingsbury for 65 years, described him as "a great person" who was "full of fun".

"A neighbour told me yesterday morning and it knocked me for six," she said.

"It made me feel sick because I liked Stuart very much. He was very popular and will be sadly missed."

Michael Newman, 71, also of Pisgah Road, said he and the former British School pupil had been friends since childhood.

During the 1960s he opened a garage with Mr Kingsbury and his brother, David, in Freeholdland, Pontnewynydd. The trio also branched out into vehicle hire and opened one of the area's first driving schools.

"Dave, Stuart and me used to knock around together," he said.

Mr Newman said news of the death of his friend, who was best man at his wedding in 1964 and retired three years ago, came as a "terrible shock".

"It's come totally out of the blue," he said.

Mr Newman said his friend was a fully qualified pilot.

Torfaen councillor Ken Clark said he had known Mr Kingsbury for most of his life. The pair were classmates at The British School in Talywain.

"He was a good man and a good friend," he said. "He did a lot of charity work for the Pontypool Rotary Club and always drove a British-made car.

"Whenever I think of Stuart I smile. The news is very sad and my thoughts go out to his wife and family."

Mr Kingsbury is understood to have left a widow, Frances, two daughters and several grandchildren.

An inquest into his death has been opened and adjourned and a post-mortem examination carried out, but more tests are being undertaken to establish the cause of Mr Kingsbury's death.