THIEVES have made off with a 60ft hot air balloon.

The craft, which belongs to the British School of Ballooning, was stolen from a barn near Chelmsford, Essex, where it was stored between flights.

Police are trying to trace the huge balloon, which is used for pleasure flights and pilot training, after it went missing between September 1 and September 7.

Graeme Scaife, director of the British School of Ballooning, warned the thieves that the equipment inside the trailer was extremely dangerous in untrained hands. “The balloon is a registered aircraft and can only be flown by a trained pilot,” said Mr Scaife.

“If the thieves started to try and do anything with it, it could be very dangerous. It is full of gas.”

The burgundy and cream coloured balloon was being stored in a 16ft trailer in a barn at Roxwell, near Chelmsford.

The Sussex-based company is offering a £1,000 reward for any information which leads to its safe return.

Mr Scaife added: “There is a very small ballooning community in this country and we all know one another so nobody could use the balloon, it is useless to them.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said last night: “We believe a vehicle must have been used to tow the balloon away .

“It is obviously a very distinctive item.”