Two of the victims of the Hatfield train crash have been identified as Learjet pilots.

Four people died, and 35 were hurt, when a London to Leeds train was involved in a high-speed crash close to the Hertfordshire town, on Tuesday.

The two pilots have been identified as Robert Alcorn, 37, a New Zealander who lived in London and Steve Arthur, 46, a father-of-two from West Sussex.

Mr Arthur owned the Atlantic Gulf Aviation company based in Miami, Florida.

The company flies Formula One drivers, including world champion Mika Hakkinen, to different locations.

The pair were on their way to Leeds to pick up plane which they were due to fly to Jersey.

They were in a buffet car which sustained the most serious damage in the crash.

Mr Alcorn was about to marry his partner of 12 years, Angela Smith, a nurse and also a New Zealander.

Ms Smith's father, Phil, told The Evening Standard: "I guess we always worried about him dying in a plane crash, not a train. It is a parent's nightmare, she's on the other side of the world all by herself."

Mr Arthur's wife Lindsey Arthur, 33, described her husband as a "brilliant father and husband".

She added: "He was a quiet, family man who idolised his own children.

"We're just numb. I had heard nothing about the crash and the first I knew of it was a message on my answering machine yesterday evening from one of the passengers."

The other two people killed in the crash were businessman Peter Monkhouse, 50, from Leeds, and Leslie Gray, 43, from Tuxford, Nottinghamshire.