Alani Hartley, 7 , let go of her balloon and the next morning it was 270 miles away

A helium balloon released by a schoolgirl was found just hours later, 270 miles away in Sussex.
UP AND AWAY: Alani with her father Gary Hartley.UP AND AWAY: Alani with her father Gary Hartley.
UP AND AWAY: Alani with her father Gary Hartley.

Alani Hartley, 7, let go of the Disney balloon outside her Eastmoor home with her name and address attached, and it was found stuck on a school fence in Sumpting, close to the English Channel coastal town of Worthing the next morning.

Her mother, Dawn said: “I just can’t believe it when I was told, everyone was on Facebook talking about it.

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“I never honestly thought it could go that far, I thought it would just get stuck in a tree near here!”

Dawn suggested Alani release the balloon, which she got for her birthday but was beginning to deflate.