Russian man straps his Soviet car to a hot air balloon and flies above stunned picnickers

A man was fined by Russian authorities after he attached his car to a hot air balloon and flew it 25 metres into the air.

Garage 54, a group of automotive bloggers from Novosibirsk, Siberia, filmed the feat and uploaded it to their YouTube channel. It has now been viewed over 400,000 times.

Footage shows how the men modified the roof of the soviet-era Oka vehicle and replaced the balloon's passenger basket with the vintage car. The vehicle's makeshift thermal dome is then used to fly it over the city's 'Picnic Paradise' recreational area.

They branded the unusual invention as the world's first-ever "flying car".

Novosibirsk Transport Prosecutor's Office took a dim view of the stunt and fined the man 1,600 roubles (£21). They ruled that the car was a 'light aircraft' and stated that he had failed to obtain a pilot's licence and had violated the district's airspace.

This is not the first time balloons have been used in creative and unusual ways. Larry Walters, popularly known as Lawnchair Larry, made international news when he created an improvised airship by attaching a deckchair to 45 helium balloons. Dubbing his aircraft Inspiration 1, he managed to reach a height of 15,000ft during his flight.

Initially, he intended to fly to the Mojave Desert but was forced to improvise a landing in Long Beach, Los Angeles, after he dropped a pellet gun intended to control his flight-path. Walters passed away in 1993, aged just 44.