'Space pie' survives trip to final frontier and lands in North Yorkshire village

A pie has "returned safely from space", organisers have said.

SentIntoSpace said it landed in Low Bentham, North Yorkshire about 50 miles from where it was launched, at about 13:30 GMT on Thursday.

"It was in decent shape, apart from the fact the lid came off when it landed and it had broken into two pieces," said Dan Blaney of the Sheffield firm.

Tracking software revealed the meat and potato pie attached to a weather balloon climbed to 29,500m (97,000ft).

It had been launched about two-and-a-half hours earlier from Roby Mill in Wigan, Greater Manchester before landing near the Lancashire-North Yorkshire border.

SentIntoSpace, who also attached a video camera to the box containing the pie and tracking device, wanted to find out whether "space travel" affects the molecular structure of pies - not to mention how they taste.

Mr Blaney said: "I have contemplated eating a bit of it but I'm a vegetarian."

St Helens-based Ultimate Purveyors were commissioned to make the pie.

The pie was launched to promote the World Pie Eating Championships in Wigan on 20 December.