A 15-year-old daredevil from Thornbury has flown solo for the first time in a glider 3,000ft above the ground.

Ben Payne, who goes to The Castle School, took the controls to fly on his own at Bristol and Gloucester Gliding Club in Nympsfield on July 7, having only been involved in the pastime since March.

Having applied for a special scholarship with the club, one that is handed out to only four young people a year, Ben started with the club in March, and was funded by the club to learn his way around the engineless craft until his first solo flight.

Being winched into the flight by his older cousin Oliver Summerell, who has been a part of the club for more than a year, Ben flew for around 20 minutes unaided to complete his 49th flight with the club.

Later that day he completed his 50th flight in a single seater, cementing his status and a solo flyer.

“It was amazing,” Ben told the Gazette. “Doing it on your own for the first time made me very nervous, especially when I was getting ready to launch, but when I got up there, everything just faded away."

His parents Rachel and Neil, who have both been active gliders in the past, said how proud they are of their son’s achievement, both in getting the scholarship, and getting to the point where he can fly on his own.

They added that it was a particularly nice moment to see the two cousins working together to achieve the feat and that they looked forward to seeing Ben progress as he works towards his bronze award.