A Welsh Scout group on a camping trip near Bristol were unexpectedly recruited to help land a hot air balloon.
The 1st Beddau Scout Group had just arrived at the site in Tockington when pilot Peter De Herdt called on the boys to assist.
The balloon was one of around 50 taking part in a mass ascent during the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta on Saturday evening.
Balloon flight and landing
It flew for around 50 minutes from the Ashton Court Estate, where the annual fiesta takes place, to Tockington, where the group of 13 boys used a rope to help deflate the balloon as it reached the ground.
Helen Williams, treasurer of the Scout group, said: “(For some of the boys) this is their first Scout camp as well, so this is the first time they’ve been away from their parents for some of them.
“It’s flat around here, but where we are, it’s a bit more mountainous. You might get the paragliders and things like that, but we don’t see hot air balloons, and the kids don’t tend to see hot air balloons.”
Memorable experience
Ms Williams said it was “100%” an experience the boys, aged between 11 and 14, would remember for a long time.
Scout leader Matthew Bailey said it was a “great start” to the week-long trip.
The fiesta, in its 48th year, is attended by balloonists from across the world, including Switzerland, Germany, Mexico and the US.
Pilot's perspective
Mr De Herdt, from Antwerp, flew an orange and brown balloon for Belgian shoe shop Tim’s, one of 125 balloons at the fiesta this year.
The Scouts pulled a rope attached to the balloon, which was carrying seven people, on direction from Mr De Herdt and his daughter Fleur, to help deflate it.
The pilot said: “When we were in the approach of the landing, we passed the camp, the scouting camp, and we saw all the boys.
“I always invite people to come closer to the basket because often they’ve never seen a hot air balloon from that close.
“In this case, with the boys, it was really nice to have them close to the basket because they’re very enthusiastic.
“You can let them pull the balloon and for deflation it saves us effort, and they will never forget.
“So it was really nice to give them the opportunity to do this for us.”
