Police are investigating the death of a hunt supporter in Warwickshire after he was struck by a gyrocopter which was apparently monitoring the hunt from the air.

An ambulance was called to Long Marston airfield near Stratford-on-Avon shortly after 3pm today after reports that a man, thought to be in his 40s, had been hit by an aircraft. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Two people were arrested on suspicion of murder. They were tonight being questioned at Leamington Spa. No one else was injured.

Sam Butler, joint master of the Warwickshire hunt, said the dead man was Trevor Morse, a regular hunt follower. "He was a true countryman and I can give no higher compliment," Butler said, adding that he did not know whether the gyrocopter was being flown by anti-hunt protesters.

"A gyrocopter was seen following hunt for a couple of hours today before it disappeared. That is all I know," he said, adding that the hunt was "nowhere near" the airfield at the time of the incident.

A source connected with the airfield, who asked not to be named, said the gyrocopter was on a taxiway when it collided with the man. "[It] wasn't local or based at the airfield. I don't know where it came from. As far as I know it landed and then hit the man when it was on the ground."

Detective Chief Inspector Adrian McGee from Warwickshire police confirmed the collision but gave no details. "It is far too early to tell what has occurred," he said. "We will be conducting a thorough investigation to establish what happened."

Long Marston was built as an RAF training base during the second world war, becoming private in the 1950s. It is now mainly used by microlights and light aircraft, and in recent years has hosted rock music events, most notably the Phoenix festival, in the 1990s.