Balloon message travelled 350 miles

Heike Liebers thought the balloon with a message tied to the string might travel a few miles before coming back down to earth.

She was amazed to receive a letter from a French family to say the balloon had landed near their home '“ more than 350 miles away.

Heike, who is the Rooms Division Manager at Ashdown Park, released the helium balloon from the hotel at Wych Cross in the early hours of New Year's Day.

The long distance balloon landed in Toucy, 200 miles south of Paris in the famous Burgundy wine-growing region. The Goosenns family retrieved the balloon, read Heike's note and sent a letter back to her, using the more traditional postal service.