Two sisters from St Albans have been crowned champions of the St Albans Clock Tower balloon race after the tag attached to their entry was found more than 50 miles away in the village of Little Thetford near Ely.

Selina and Talia Jimenez, seven and five respectively, were each presented with a goodie bag full of Clock Tower merchandise and a scroll entitling them and a guest to free access to the tower throughout 2016.

Caroline Howkins, Clock Tower coordinator, said she was “amazed” that any of the 100 balloons that were released had made it as far as Little Thetford.

Each of the fully-biodegradable balloons was fitted with a tag which instructed the finder to post it back with details of its destination - the second furthest balloon was found in St Albans, something Caroline said made the winning balloon all the more surprising.