Hot-air balloon hits power lines

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/6374671.stm

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A hot-air balloon pilot had a lucky escape after becoming entangled in power lines in Oxfordshire.

The alarm was raised when about 500 homes in the Standlake area, near Witney, lost power on Sunday evening.

Firefighters assisted electricity board engineers in removing a balloon from 11,000-volt electricity lines at a leisure park, off the A415 Downs Road.

The pilot was able to release himself safely and no one else was injured in the incident.

Thames Valley Police closed Downs Road for an hour while the balloon was removed.

A spokesman for Southern Electric said power was restored to homes within two hours.