`Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon'...except nobody actually managed to get off the ground at the Virgin International Balloon Grand Prix meeting at Brands Hatch.

Strong winds prevented what would have been the fabulous sight of a sky full of unusual inflatables over the weekend of June 27 and 28.

However, the Sunday morning did see conditions improve enough for the balloons, including an Action Man, Ordnance Survey Map and giant globe to be inflated and shown off to the public.

The event included a full programme of motor racing and it is hoped this will become an annual event on the Brands Hatch calendar.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.