Hot-air balloon crashes into houses

A father and his stepson were lucky to escape after their hot-air balloon smashed into houses in Bristol.

The balloon, one of 150 taking part in Bristol's International Fiesta, crashed into the chimneys of houses in the Victoria Park area, before tearing 30 tiles off the roof of a house in Alsop Street, early on Friday morning. The pilot, Martin Read, had lost height whilst changing the gas cylinders that power the balloon's burner.

"I saw it hitting the telephone lines and then the roof. I thought it was going to come through the bedroom window," said Bernadine Nolan, whose house bore the brunt of the damage before Mr Read, who was flying the balloon with his stepson Terry Wetters, regained control and landed it at Goose Green, five miles away.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the incident.