Derby balloon arrives in Sydney

A balloon released by a schoolboy in Derby has turned up 10 thousand miles away - in Australia.

Pupils and staff at Wyndham Primary Academy were thrilled when they got tags returned from balloons that had travelled overseas.

Six-year-old Joshua Blackaby received a letter from a girl in Sydney, telling him she'd found his balloon down under.

Six-year-old Joshua Blackaby said he was thrilled to find out a helium balloon he set off from his primary school in Derby last December, had travelled 10,000 miles to Australia.

It was let go as part of celebrations when his school became an academy.

Six-year-old Joshua Blackaby said he was thrilled to find out a helium balloon he set off from his primary school in Derby last December, had travelled 10,000 miles to Australia.

It was let go as part of celebrations when his school became an academy.

He opened a letter in front of his classmates at Wyndham Primary Academy from a girl called Millie who has found his balloon and its tag in a tree in her garden, in East Kurrajong, 50 miles to the North West of Sydney.

It was written by an adult but signed by the little girl and read:

"Hi. My name is Millie and I found your balloon in a tree in my back garden. I am very excited and pleased to send it back."

This map shows how far Joshua Blackaby's balloon travelled in the race entered by 300 pupils at the Wyndham Primary Academy in Derby last December.

The students launched their balloons together - and some made it as far as The Netherlands and Denmark.

However Josh's went all the way down under!

Click here to see a Google Map of the route of the balloon.

A balloon released by a schoolboy in Derby has travelled 10,000 miles across the world, and has landed in Australia.

6-year-old Joshua Blackaby set the balloon off in December when his school became an academy.

He has now had a letter from a girl in Sydney who has found the balloon and tag in her garden.

Video courtesy of Wyndham Primary Academy.