MANY residents of Andover spotted an unusual sight in the sky above the town on Saturday afternoon.

A big, yellow hot air balloon was seen flying low above various area of Andover and surroundings, before landing past the town, in a field by the A303.

Several members of our Andover Advertiser Camera Club snapped pictures.

In the comments on Facebook, Jonathan Greatrix responded to say he was the one flying above the town as part of his annual commercial test.

He said: “[It is] allowed under Covid rules. Covid secure. We landed the other side of the A303 beyond Andover.”

He added: “It was a fabulous day for it - and I passed.”

Many enjoyed seeing the balloon, but the news on this newspaper’s Facebook page also sparked some concerns.

One commenter wrote: “It certainly brightened the beautiful blue sky”.

Another added: “My kids loved seeing it.”

However, others were worried about the necessity of an air balloon trip during lockdown restrictions.

One person wrote: “Just wondered how that is essential travel?”

Another resident added:”How odd that no-one can take any kind of driving test, unless it is for emergency related reasons, yet it is OK for three people to huddle up in a small basket without masks and at least one other person acting as ground crew, driving around looking for where they might land ready to collect them, the balloon and take them back to their cars all for a test that, obviously can wait as he can’t fly anyway!”

The government website states, under ‘Coronavirus: General Aviation’: “Flying training organisations providing training for professional pilots, for the purposes of work, may continue to do so.

“Individuals undertaking such activity may continue to attend for these purposes. Social distancing measures must be in place and observed at all times.”

The Advertiser has contacted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for comment.