IT was lucky for Karen Dean that she wasn't in the mood for a spot of sunbathing yesterday morning.
For just before 11am, a light aircraft fell out of the sky and crashed into her back garden.
Both she and the 76-year-old pilot had miraculous escapes after the Cirrus SR22 hit the ground.
Fortunately the 200mph aircraft's fall was slowed by an emergency parachute - and then cushioned by Mrs Dean's conifer trees.
The unnamed pilot was able to stumble from the wreckage with only minor injuries, and a relieved Mrs Dean spoke of her shock and relief that catastrophe was avoided.
The plane even managed to avoid her greenhouse, summer house and shed.
The 50-year-old mother of two was inside her £250,000 semi-detached home in Cheltenham when she heard a 'whirring sound'.
'It got louder and louder and then I thought all hell was breaking loose,' she said. 'I ran into my garden and there was this huge plane.
'The pilot clambered out and was walking around a bit dazed. I was in shock. I was so scared.'
Mrs Dean, a project manager for Boots, was working from home yesterday. She joked of the damage done to the property: 'That was the only part of my garden that we had done up, so I'm a touch annoyed that it's wrecked now.
'If they let me keep the plane, which they won't, it would make an incredible water feature. Charlie Dimmock would be jealous.'
Neighbour Jeannie Bowers, 46, added: 'There was a big pop and banging sound and then a whoosh of air. The parachute went up and the plane slowly came down towards the ground gently turning and hanging from this parachute.
'It just gently came down and landed on the conifers in Karen's garden.'
The Cirrus aircraft, worth around £200,000, was written off in the crash which left one wing almost completely torn away and the other bent at a 90-degree angle at the tip.
Emergency services were at the scene in minutes and took the pilot to hospital, but it is understood he suffered only minor injuries.
He was helped from the wreckage by builder David Shatford, 30, who was working on a nearby property.
He said: 'I looked around and saw this plane coming straight towards me. It was about ten feet away and I had to jump off the scaffolding.
'Next thing I knew the plane had smashed into the trees.'
The pilot, from London, was heading for Gloucestershire Airport at Staverton, which sent its Rescue and Fire Fighting Service to the scene to make the plane safe.
His soft landing came courtesy of the aircraft's Cirrus Airframe Parachute System - an emergency device which has been credited with saving at least 70 lives.
Records show the aircraft was built in 2008 and is registered through Southern Aircraft Consultancy in Suffolk.
No one from the firm was available for comment.
HOW THE PARACHUTE WORKS IN A CIRRUS SR22
In the event of an emergency, the pilot pulls a red chord which is in the ceiling of the cockpit.
Once the chord is pulled a solid-fuel rocket is deployed out of a hatch which covers the compartment where the parachute is stored.
As the rocket carries the parachute rearward from the back of the plane, harness straps are released.
Within seconds, the 65inch diameter canopy unfolds which begins to control the plane's descent.
According to Nick Tarratt, UK agent for Cirrus, pilots have only had to deploy the parachute a handful of times worldwide.
He said: 'The aircraft is the only production aircraft to have a parachute built in.
'The idea came from the plane's designers, brothers Alan and Dale Klapmeier after Alan had a mid-air collision.
'It inspired them to produce an aircraft with a built in parachute.
'It is a real success story, because this man has been able to walk away alive.'
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