Residents in Abergavenny had a shock when the sky suddenly turned dark and a large object began to approach their houses from the sky.

Kathy Jones, 50, of Western Road, said the whole area was on tenterhooks as "a dark shadow" hovered overhead on Tuesday evening at around 7pm.

She said: "A hot air balloon was moving towards us and losing height all the time. There were lots of people moving frantically in the basket and trying to be brave as someone realeased vapours to try and make it go higher.

"It skimmed a number of roofs in Cresta Road and was so low it was scary. But full marks to whoever was flying it for getting it down in a nearby field.

"It must have been an impromptu landing as balloons have never landed here before."

Vince Williams, 60, of Cresta Road, said: "If it hadn't had a burst of gas, it would have been on our roof."

The balloon belonged to Bristol Balloons and after the landing on the outskirts of the Brecon Beacon National Park, the company's recovery vehicle soon arrived to pick up the passengers.