A BALLOON let go by an eight-year-old girl from Burnley in her back garden travelled more than 900 miles before landing in Germany.

Lilly-May Austin set the balloon free from her home but never expected it would float so far.

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Less than a month later she learned of its fate after a grandfather came across it and read her handwritten note asking for whoever found it to get in touch, and duly contacted the Lancashire Telegraph.

Mum Sarah-May, 27, said: “We watched it fly away from the back of the house and it disappeared so we thought it had landed in someone’s garden.

“It must have actually gone behind a cloud or something and drifted away. I thought it would only make it round the corner.

“Lilly is really excited that it ended up in a different country but I don’t think she realises how far 900 miles is.”

The balloon was discovered by grandfather Eberhard Behr in Wettin Lobejun, Central Germany.

He read Lilly-May’s note and contacted this newspaper, asking us to put him in touch with the youngster.

Eberhard, 66, said: “We found the balloon in my neighbour’s garden with the attached note from Lilly-May. I was really surprised.

“The balloon must have been flying really high for the wind to take it all this way.

“My English is not that good, but I understood that she wanted an answer that it had arrived somewhere. I have four grandchildren myself. They were really happy when I told them the story and I hope the girl will feel the same.”

Lilly-May was given the balloon on her birthday on June 19 and when it was still inflated in the corner of the family’s living room days later, her dad Lee suggested she tested how far it could travel.

“Lilly wrote a note on a piece of paper and we wrapped it in Sellotape to make it waterproof,” said Sarah-May. “The most incredible thing is the balloon came from a pound shop.”