Portion of fish and chips sent into space from Sheffield

A portion of fish and chips has been sent into space in Sheffield in a world first.
The fish and chips were launched into space from Sheffield.The fish and chips were launched into space from Sheffield.
The fish and chips were launched into space from Sheffield.

The box of haddock and chips - attached to a weather balloon - lifted into the clouds at noon from the city and is set to spend a few hours floating above the Earth before coming back down when the balloon bursts.

Staff from Sent Into Space, the Dixon Road based firm which helps send weird and wonderful objects into the heavens linked up with fish and chip shop chain Papas for the stunt.

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Papas, which has restaurants in Hull and Scarborough, wanted to send one of its meals into the stratosphere to prove the dish is "out of this world."

Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.
Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.

Dino Papas, who runs the award winning shop, alongside his brother, George, and dad, Sid, says he hopes it shows Hull to be the home of fish and chips.

He said: "We've tried to play it down a bit, as we heard rumours some people down south were going to do it first, but we are looking forward to being the first.

"We want it to be clear that Hull is the home of fish and chips. With City of Culture, and winning the best fish and chips, we really wanted to do something a bit extra."

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The fish and chips will reach four times higher than any commercial aeroplane has ever reached.

Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.
Papas owners Sid and Dino Papas.

His brother George said: "It will take a couple of hours before it gets up there and spends some time floating in space. It's just a celebration really, because it's a once in a lifetime thing.

"We are going to be filming it and get that amazing view of the earth and the skyline from our chips on the balloon.

"After a while the balloon will start to drift and then pop, so it will end up raining fish and chips over Yorkshire."

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The firm was named as Britain's Best Fish and Chip Shop on BBC's Britain's Best Takeaways.

"It's something we've been thinking about for a couple of years," George said. "It's not easy to just send anything into space and took a lot of planning and hard work. It would be nice to do it closer to home but this was the only place we found able to do it.