Organisers of a village balloon race were left astounded after receiving a return ticket all the way from California!
The helium-filled balloon took just nine days to travel some 5,144 miles and arrived faster than a letter sent via the post to the man who found it!
Hundreds of balloons were released from Glen Park as part of the Celebrate Surfleet fun day on September 7 with prizes for the person whose balloon travelled the furthest and the person who found it.
Organisers hoped to receive at least a few tickets back but imagine the surprise when treasurer Liana Barnes got one from McKinleyville on the west coast of America.
Liana said: “At first we thought it was a joke but why would anyone stage it for the sake of £25?
“Our chairman Tony Blissett spoke to the Met Office who said it is possible that the balloon could have made it that far. I guess it was a case of perfect conditions.
“The man who found it sent a receipt from the post office in McKinleyville as proof of his location.
“He found the deflated balloon in his back yard on September 16, so it took just nine days to get there.”
Liana received two more tickets back – one from Ipswich in Suffolk (around 100 miles away) and the other from Wymondham in Norfolk (around 80 miles away).
She has now written back to the finder of the balloon, Michael Martin, asking him to email her with details of how he would like his £25 prize to be paid but is waiting for a response.
She said: “I sent the letter on November 11 and am assuming it’s not arrived yet – sending it by balloon would have been faster!”
The balloon was bought on the day of the fete by a relative on behalf of Surfleet woman Jan Davis.
Mrs Davis, of Newlands Road, has been presented with her £25 prize and was astonished to hear that her balloon had travelled so far.
Liana added: “Mrs Davis usually attends the fun day but was unable to so do this year, so a member of her family bought a balloon for her.
“She was delighted to have won but has a big family and hasn’t been able to get to the bottom of who actually bought the balloon!”
