A FULL-scale rescue operation was launched on Friday night after it was feared a hot-air balloon had crashed in Hawkshaw.

Three fire crews and ambulances joined police officers at a field opposite the entrance to Holcombe Moor Army Camp.

A member of the public sparked the operation after seeing a piece of cloth hanging from an electricity pylon. Emergency services controllers were informed a hot-air balloon had crashed into the power lines shortly after 9pm.

But rescue crews found it was not a hot-air balloon but a helium balloon that had been snared on the pylon.

A fire service spokesman said: "The call was made in good faith by a member of the public who could see a piece of material hanging from a pylon.

"It was believed it could have been wreckage from a a hot-air balloon or even a micro-light aircraft. Fortunately, it was nothing serious. Just an empty helium balloon."