The skies above south Norfolk were alive with colour as the third annual Balloon Festival took off from Old Buckenham airfield.

Balloons from across the country turned out to take to the skies in almost perfect autumnal conditions at the weekend.

Organiser David Stagg, 26, said 'The weather at this time of year is normally fairly settled and the farmers have cut their crops down by this point and we have many great places to land in.'

Mr Stagg, from Spixworth, said: 'This years event was a great success, we had seven balloon teams flying - for Norfolk that is a lot as on most flyable evenings there are only two or three in the skies.'

Around 200 hundred spectators took advantage of free entry into the airfield and were there to watch the teams rise into the sky.

Matt Wilkins, airfield manager at Old Buckenham, said: 'It was very popular and we are very grateful to David and all the balloonists who took part.

'It's become a regular event in the calendar here.'

The event started on Friday evening and finished 48 hours later with four eye-catching flights over the weekend.

Mr Stagg said: 'One of the highlights of the weekend was Saturday morning's flight. We woke up to a beautiful morning with the sun rising and a small amount of mist just hugging the ground.

'It was very picturesque, we had light wind so we were able to all fly alongside one another.

'The best part of it all is being able to fly in a beautiful part of the country and meet some really great people.'

The 26-year-old has been ballooning for most of his life, taking after his parents who took up the activity while he was a toddler.

He said: 'I am very passionate about flying and I would like to be able to share my hobby and passion with everyone.

'The best parts of flying are seeing the joy and happiness on the face of someone who is flying for the first time, floating silently over the beautiful Norfolk countryside and climbing up to 3000ft to see the coast from Kings Lynn to Lowestoft in one amazing view.'

Are you organising an event at an airfield? Email kate.royall@archant.co.uk