Bad weather grounds Bond balloon stunt

A mile-high stunt in which a James Bond lookalike was hoping to descend to the ground by shooting down the 300 balloons that suspended him was postponed today due to bad weather.

Mike Howard, dressed as his daredevil hero in a dinner jacket, was aiming to rise to more than 11,000ft with the helium-filled balloons to beat the world record at Bristol’s International Balloon Fiesta.

The skydiver was to cut himself free from a regular hot air balloon at a height of around 3,000ft and then ascend another 8,000ft to take the title.

Aided by oxygen equipment, the 36-year-old British Airways pilot from Timperley, south Manchester, planned to use a replica Bond Walther PPK pistol to shoot the balloons when he needed to come back down.

The event has been rescheduled for first thing tomorrow morning.