Bakewell pudding sent to the edge of space goes missing

Photograph of the pudding at about 50,000ft above earth

A Bakewell pudding which was launched to the edges of space, with tracking devices attached, has gone missing.

Pupils at S. Anselm's Preparatory School in Derbyshire launched the dessert, attached to a high altitude balloon, on Monday.

Tracking devices showed it was at 52,500ft (16,000m) over Saxilby, near Lincoln, when contact was lost.

The school said a search was ongoing, while Stephen Fry tweeted about it, commenting: "My country, my country..."

The tweet, which already has more than 4,000 likes, attracted comments like: "I bet a Clanger ate it", "Discovered: Extra Cholesterol Life" and "But doesn't it just make you feel so pastriotic?"

The school said it had been hoping to reach heights of about 114,000ft (35,000m).

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Liz Scott, director of studies, said: "Last year, we launched a high-altitude balloon in preparation for this experiment and it was found by a couple on a beach near Skegness, who used the contact details on the balloon to let us know where it ended up.

"We're hoping the same thing will happen again and we'll find out where the pudding ends up."

The Bakewell pudding before take off

She said the pupils have raised about £1,600 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity as part of the experiment by asking local firms to sponsor them.

The trackers on the altitude balloon records its position, along with temperatures and photographs.

The sweet treat was launched into the sky on Monday