EMERGENCY services deny that 999 calls made by witnesses of the fatal hot air balloon crash were delayed.

A witness to the balloon crash yesterday morning (Sunday) said they had difficulty getting through because 999 calls were affected by a technical issue.

However, the fire service and police said the calls were made before the national outage which affected emergency calls across the country.

A man in his 20s died after the balloon fell to the ground in a field off Holt Fleet Road, near Ombersley Court.

The witness who reported the crash said: “There were lots of balloons in the sky because it was clear and sunny despite being so early.

“Suddenly there was a flash and what looked like a fireball coming from a blue balloon and it just dropped like a stone.

“We called the emergency services but had difficulty getting through on the 999 number because it was down.

“We finally got through. It was a terrible thing to see.”

However, a spokesperson from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue said their response times were not affected by the national problem.

They said: "The incident took place at 6.21am and the system error occurred at 8.13am on Sunday morning."

A spokesperson from West Mercia Police also said the incident took place before the technical fault.

West Mercia Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

His family are now being supported by West Mercia Police's specialist family liaison officers. 

The Air Ambulance Investigation Branch is now carrying out an investigation to discover how the hot air balloon crashed.

The branch investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the UK, its overseas territories and crown dependencies.

The organisers of the Worcester Balloon Festival said the crash is not related to the festival.

A Government spokesperson said:

"There was a technical issue with the 999 call system earlier today. This is now fully resolved and the service is running as normal, and so anyone with an emergency should call 999 for assistance in the normal way.  

“A full investigation is underway to understand what caused this problem.”