At least three Britons have died in Peru after their light aircraft crashed near one of the country's most famous tourist attractions.

Andrew Brown, 30, and Gayle Callow, 34, were killed alongside another male passenger when their Cessna plane came down in a field near the centuries-old Nazca Lines markings.

A third British man, Warren Denham, in his thirties, is also understood to have been killed in the crash - along with two Peruvian crew members - but the identities of the victims have yet to be officially confirmed.

The plane is thought to have suffered engine trouble and crashed after taking off from the local Maria Reiche airport at about 11.15pm British time on Saturday.

Local police said the aircraft hit the field as the pilot and co-pilot tried to make an emergency landing.

The Nazca Lines, mysterious geoglyphs etched into the desert centuries ago by indigenous groups, are a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Peru's main tourist destinations. The markings are only fully recognisable from the air and 30-minute overflights are popular with travellers.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the British Ambassador to Peru and another member of the consular staff had travelled to the scene of the crash from Lima.

He said: "The Peruvian authorities have notified us that three British nationals died in the plane crash in Nazca. A fourth passenger died in the incident, along with two crew members. Police are attempting to identify the nationality and identity of the fourth passenger."