BALLOONS were released above RAF Brize Norton to pay tribute to British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan - and help a charity sending presents to servicemen and women on overseas duty.

1,500 yellow balloons were released into the grey skies above the base on Saturday - at the start of the Big Yellow Balloon race.

Members of the public, in Britain and overseas, bought the balloons to raise money for the Carterton-based Yellow Ribbon Foundation - and the owner and finder of the balloon travelling the furthest will each receive £25.

The foundation has been raising money for the past year for UK4U, a charity set up to continue the long-standing tradition of Christmas gifts for service people on active duty on foreign soil, and as the balloons went up, a cheque for £800 was presented to representatives of the charity.

Trustee, Allan Sims, said: "We have been invited here by the Yellow Ribbon Foundation to receive a cheque. We need to raise in the region of £300,000 each year to carry out our work, and we send about 25,000 gifts to all service personnel who are away from their families at Christmas.

"Frequently we get letters back from recipients saying ours is the only present they received on Christmas Day. It is really quite warming for us."

Emma Cheedy, Saturday's event co-ordinator, added: "The Yellow Ribbon Foundation is a not-for-profit company, set up five years ago, when support for the Armed Forces was low - during the firemen's strike and with the Iraq war looming.

"A group of wives got together and decided to do something to show we were proud of our husbands."