Balloon championships take off in Wyre Forest
Balloons have taken to the skies in Wyre Forest this week for a national competition.
The British National Hot Air Balloon Championships is taking place at Wolverley Secondary School until Saturday.
Each morning and evening around 20 balloons will to or from Wolverley, as pilots bid to become national champion.
Last year's winner Dominic Bareford leads the competition as he aims to defend his title.
Last night's (weds) flight was cancelled due to weather conditions.
The competitors all have different coloured balloons and tend to fly in the morning and then the evening – as that is when conditions are best.
It is normally the first three to four hours after sunrise, and two to three hours before sunset.
They have to direct their balloons to targets which have been set down by officials and will then drop markers as close to the target as they can.
A statement on the UK Competition Ballooning website explains: "In a competition, the pilots will have to use the winds to guide their balloon to targets that have been set by the officials.
"They will then drop a marker (which is a small sandbag with a streamer on) as near to the target as they can.
"These come in a variety of colours...
"The markers are measured by either the officials or by the observers (these are also members of the official team, but are assigned to a pilot to go with them, and ensure they abide by the rules).
"Spectators are welcome, but we ask that [people] stay clear of the balloon teams during launch, as this can be quite a busy time for them."
The event started on Monday (aug14) and concludes on Saturday (aug19).
