RESIDENTS have told of their amazement at seeing an up close unexpected landing by a hot air balloonist who touched down in Wollaston at the weekend.

Villagers watched in shock as the balloon drifted slowly over rooftops before landing on a grassy area outside shops at the junction of Kent Road and The Kingsway on Saturday evening.

Eyewitness Graham Beckley of Wentworth Road said: "I was out in my garden at around 9.15pm when one of my friends phoned and said have you seen what is coming over you.

"I had a camera in the car, so I grabbed it and ran up the road.

"The balloon had come down right outside the shops by the island. It had been travelling so slowly, as there wasn't any wind.

"Nobody seemed to be panicking and there appeared to be a recovery vehicle at the scene with the balloon and they simply packed it up and left. There was quite a crowd which had gathered by this stage and the police arrived.

"Somebody told me the balloon had come from Tenbury Wells, but someone else later said it had come from Cookley."

A spokesman for West Midlands Police later confirmed they attended at 9.26pm after being contacted by a concerned resident in Vicarage Road who feared the balloon might hit a house.

But there were no reports of injuries or damage.