A British family had a dramatic rescue from the Mexican jungle after their small plane crashed and broke into pieces while they were on a trip of a lifetime to visit the Mayan ruins.

William Carpmael, 46, and his family miraculously walked away from the wreckage.

Mr Carpmael, a City advisory firm manager, was travelling with his wife Anna, 48, and their two children on a light aircraft when it got into difficulties leaving them stranded in the jungle for three hours as search teams tried to find them.

Mr Carpmael, a former associate director at former London-based investment bank SBC Warburg who studied mathematics at Jesus College, Cambridge, praised their "hero" pilot for saving their lives.

“We are all ok, thanks to our hero pilot Alan and our guardian angels. George has a couple of stitches but otherwise just bruises and sprains," he tweeted.

“Certainly ticked the adventure box but we are very lucky. Alan is also ok, but had a large head wound that we bandaged up. Back at hotel."