A PENSIONER woke to find eight people stranded in a hot air balloon basket - right in front of his bedroom window.

The balloon had made an emergency landing in a field less than 12 feet away from Fred Bennet's home in Kem Mill Lane, Whittle-le-Woods, on Sunday morning.

Rubbing sleep from his eyes the 76-year-old grandfather-of-three had to take a second look to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

He said: "I thought I was dreaming when I first saw it.

"Earlier in the morning at about quarter to eight I heard a swish and I didn't know what it was.

"I never thought anything else about it. Then I opened my blinds and right in front of my bedroom window was this big basket with eight people in it."

The hot air balloon had made an unplanned landing in the field because of a lack of wind.

Residents came to help the balloonists roll it up and get it deflated.

Fred said: "They told me that the lack of wind meant it could not fly.

"My neighbours said they saw it come down and that it only just cleared the top ridge of my house.

"The people in the basket were looking very relieved, like they were glad that they were down."

After three quarters of an hour a low loader wagon came and took the balloon away from the site.

Fred said: "It was quite funny really. It is very unusual. I have never seen anything like it before and I doubt I ever will."