A BALLOON race held in Neston to raise money for charity raised almost £3,000.
And one of the balloons released ended up as far afield as Belgium.
The race, which raises proceeds for Chester-based charity OAKS (Overseas Aid for the Kids of Sierra Leone), was held at Neston Village Fair and exceeded last year’s total by more than £300.
A total of 1,000 balloons were let into the sky and, carried along by the weather, ended up crossing the Dee into Wales, the Conwy Valley and Lleyn Peninsula before moving south to Hereford.
But the furthest travelling balloon ended up in Belgium, and its owner was presented with £100 of Marks & Spencer vouchers and an organic food hamper.
The event will greatly help the OAKS charity, which has previously been able to build a school in the former war-torn state of Sierra Leone.
And for the past three years it has been solely funding and teaching up to 275 primary school children from one of the poorest and most under-privileged areas of Africa. The charity needs to raise £800 a month in order to pay the salary of its seven teachers.
Nic Phipps, secretary of OAKS, said the balloon race was a success.
“The hundreds of balloons released at once filled the skies on this sunny day either side of rainy days,” he said.
