Bristol-made BBC hot air balloon to fly again after restoration

The balloon will be flown at the Midlands Air Festival

A hot air balloon made famous by the BBC is to take to the skies again.

The orange and red globe, made in Bristol by Cameron Balloons, featured on BBC One's idents for five years.

It was inflated for the first time in decades in March and has been restored by brothers Liam and Daniel Whitelock to make it ready to be flown at the Midlands Air Festival.

Daniel said: "It's quite surreal because when I was a child I remember it on telly."

The brothers, who have about 60 balloons as part of Bristol Balloon Collectors, have been returning the balloon to its former glory, including retouching its paintwork.

The balloon was seen on BBC One between 1997 and 2002

Liam said that the balloon had "lasted pretty well, it all feels good".

He said red "tends to fade a bit" so the top is a "bit more faded than the bottom".

"Now we've finally seen it out of the bag it's not as bad as we thought it would be.

"It looks brilliant. I can't wait to inflate it," he added.

The balloon has been retouched by Liam and Daniel Whitlock (pictured left)

Daniel, who can still recall enjoying seeing the balloon on TV, said: "To have it there sitting in your garage, it's quite surreal.

"When we get old balloons we like to get them out for people to enjoy."

Liam explained that the clouds painted on the fabric by Cameron Balloons many years ago were flaking, so they had touched them up with barge enamel paint, usually used on boats.

He said that painting balloons is generally "long gone now" as manufacturers use digital printing.

The BBC globe balloon will be flown at the Midlands Air Festival, which runs between 2 to 4 June at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire.

The balloon was retired in 2002 and moved through various storage sites

The BBC1 ident balloon has been tethered alongside other balloons at the festival