AMONGST dozens of hot air balloons to break a world record last month for the largest gathering to cross the English Channel was one belonging to a Wotton-under-Edge-based company.

Renishaw’s unique, G-RENI balloon, which has been specially-adapted to accommodate wheelchair passengers, joined 81 other hot air balloons for the April 7 world record attempt.

Setting off from Lydden Hill race circuit before flying over the white cliffs of Dover and on to Calais, the gathering successfully broke the record of 49 balloons which had been set exactly six years prior.

The record attempt organised by Exclusive Ballooning, saw pilots from 10 different countries participate and information from the day will now be submitted for official ratification.

Renishaw has been working with Exclusive Ballooning since 2012 and was also the only balloon in the attempt with its own twitter account.

"Thank you to all the pilots and crews who travelled so far to make this truly an international and unforgettable flight,” said Andrew Holly, director of Exclusive Ballooning.

“The 2011 flight was my favourite of all time and we were thrilled to be able to give so many pilots from all over Europe the opportunity to have the same experience.

“It was a fantastic day and I think this flight is now top of my list."

Chris Pockett, head of communications at Renishaw said: “Congratulations to everyone that was involved in the event.

“This flight beat the previous record by a significant margin and we were proud to be part of it.

“G-RENI has become a popular sight in the South West region, has flown above London as part of the Lord Mayor’s Hot Air Balloon Regatta and has now been seen overseas too.”

This is not the first participation in the Guinness World Records for Renishaw, which was featured in 2015 for manufacturing the world’s first 3D-printed titanium alloy bike frame.

Renishaw is also contributing its engineering expertise to the Bloodhound SSC project, which is aiming to break the world land speed record.