A BOLTON balloon artist has only just taken her head out of the clouds after she was whisked off to sunny Barcelona to race across the Spanish skies.

Television bosses paid Julie Barnes a surprise visit at her shop in Moss Bank to ask if she wanted to take part in a new series called Daytripper.

Together with celebrity Jenny Powell, Julie was jetted off to Montserrat Monastery before getting into a hot air balloon and heading off to the European Balloon Festival.

And with Julie's fear of heights, it was quite a challenge to see herself alongside 49 other balloons sailing across the Spanish skyline.

Julie said: "I loved it. As we went up, it took my breath away. It was quite a sight to see many balloons next to us in the sky. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no shaking and it was a very comfortable ride. I would definitely do it again."

Back in Bolton, camera crews filmed Julie hard at work at her shop making balloons for weddings and other social occasions. And the show finishes with children from Bolton School launching 50 small balloons into the air from the playground.

The programme is on ITV1 at 5.55pm on Sunday.