HIGH-flying hot air balloonists took part in a world record bid to cross the English Channel.

Pilot Neil Fishlock and co-pilot Mick Davies, from Welland, near Malvern, were part of a cohort of 82 hot air balloons that flew from Dover to Calais in an attempt to set the record for the largest number of hot air balloons simultaneously crossing the channel.

The previous record was 49 balloons, set in 2011. Although the challenge was a success, organisers are still awaiting verification from Guinness World Records.

Mr Fishlock, 56, and Mr Davies, 70, were supported by crew members Julian Taylor, Jon Davis and Neil Betteridge for the challenge, on Friday, April 7.

The hot air balloons took off at 7am and the journey went smoothly, with everyone successfully reaching the destination some three hours later.

The balloons reached 2,500ft in height and flew at speeds of up to 18mph during the 36-mile trip.

Mr Fishlock called the experience "fantastic".

“At one point we couldn’t see a thing due to the mist, we couldn’t see any land at all which was a very interesting experience,” he said.

“It was a fantastic experience, though a little scary when you could not see England or France – only the sea and lots of boats below you.”

Mr Fishlock also paid tribute to the people in the background who helped make sure everything went to plan, but could not make it on the day – Jon Flewers, John Clements Clive McDougal and Ian Morrison.

He added: “We were all very excited to have been able to achieve this – we only fly locally for fun so such a big event is always a bit daunting with all the professional teams there.

"It was great to be on the ground in France with no incidents – just fantastic to be with a group of like-minded people up for a little adventure.

"This certainly lived up to the adage 'do one thing every day that scares you'.”

The event was organised by Exclusive Ballooning Aerial Marketing Worldwide, with the help of Datum RPO.

The group had been planning to make the world record attempt since early March, but had been delayed due to the wind having to be in the exact direction to make land fall and at a speed to enable them to get across the channel.

Mr Fishlock and the group from Welland hope to fly at the Longleat Exclusive Cup Sky Safari and at the Bristol International Balloon meet later this year. They would also like to fly in the Alps for a second time in the winter, another experience deemed very special by hot air balloonists.