CHILDREN playing in the Beldhams playground in Wrecclesham had quite a surprise on Wednesday last week when a hot air balloon sailed over their heads and touched down just yards away.

The bright red Virgin-operated balloon made a controlled landing on the recreation field to the rear of Weydon School in Greenfield Road at around 5.15pm, having earlier taken off from Anstey Park in Alton.

A Virgin spokesman said: “On Wednesday afternoon one of our big red balloons took off on a scheduled flight from Anstey Park in Alton at approximately 4.10pm. The 16 passengers on board enjoyed incredible views of the surrounding countryside on their hour-long flight before landing in Wrecclesham near Farnham at approximately 5.10pm.

“Hot air balloons travel where the wind takes them and cannot be steered in the traditional sense like other aircraft. They will come in lower as the pilot prepares to land where they find a large enough, clear and open space as per UK aviation regulations.

“Wednesday’s flight had the pilot in full control at all times and saw a perfectly safe landing on a playing field adjacent to Wrecclesham Community Centre.

“Our full basket of 16 happy passengers then helped our crew and pilot pack the balloon away and enjoyed a traditional post-landing Champagne toast, before receiving their retrieval service back to the original launch site to head home.

“Due to their huge size, standing at 120 feet tall or 10 storeys high when inflated, our balloons are an impressive sight, especially when flying lower to the ground as the pilot comes in to land or begins to look for a landing site towards the end of a flight.”