A GROUP of hikers were stunned in 2005 when they found a balloon released in Johnstone in the mountains of Norway.

The balloon travelled more than 500 miles before coming to rest just north of Bergen, on the west coast of the Scandinavian country.

It was among 200 released by pupils at Johnstone High in November 2003 to raise money for Children in Need.

The school thought the furthest a balloon had travelled was Ceres, in Fife, a mere 66 miles away, after one was found there a month after the launch.

However, more than a year after the release took place, a family in Norway got in touch to say they had found one of the balloons while walking in the mountains.

Aase Richter, along with her aunt, niece and nephew, were doing a five-day hike from Finse to Aurland, in the Aurlandsdalen valley, when they made the discovery.