WORRIED residents sparked a major scare when they reported that an airship had crashed in fields at Bury.

The police helicopter was scrambled and officers combed dark fields near Castle Hill Road, Bury, after the calls on Saturday night.

Checks were also made with air traffic control to establish whether an airship had passed over the area.

After an extensive 40-minute search police discovered that a hot air balloon had landed safely in a nearby field.

The owner assured police the landing had been controlled and no-one had been injured. The balloon had Royal Mail markings but a mystified Royal Mail spokesman said today that their official balloon had been grounded for some time.

An experienced flyer said it would be easy to mistake a balloon landing normally in the dark for an airship in trouble.

He said: "Even normal flying procedures look pretty spectacular, dangerous and exciting from the ground because there are a lot of flames as you come in to land."

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