Police and Avon Firefighters were called on this evening to help free a hot air balloon which had become entangled on a rugby post after landing on playing fields in Bristol.
The balloon was one of several that took to the skies from Ashton Court around an hour before sunset on Tuesday night, and sailed peacefully across Bristol.
The pilot executed a safe landing on Barton Fields playing fields and park in Speedwell.
But the balloon's enveloped deflated and unfortunately became entangled in one of the rugby posts at one end of the pitch - and got stuck there.
Local residents gathered at the scene, and with the balloon canopy ripping, the balloonists were at something of a loss about exactly how to get it down.
Police arrived to assist, and Avon Fire and Rescue Service - putting their #NotJustFires maxim to the test - were summoned with an aerial appliance to disentangle the balloon from the very top of the rugby post.
One eyewitness said: "It looked like everyone in the balloon was ok, it was just that the balloon itself didn't exactly come back down from the rugby post."
Casey Stocker captured the entire operation on camera - with a video showing even firefighters laughing as they tried to tug the balloon free.
The firefighters were from Temple Fire Station - the one with the longest turntable ladder in Bristol - and one firefighter was manoeuvred to the top of the rugby post in question.
After some coaxing and some worrying sounds of ripping fabric, the firefighter dropped the vast envelope to the ground and the fire service's job was complete.
