The Government has stepped in to stop U.S. singer Kelly Clarkson taking a gold and turquoise ring once owned by Jane Austen out of the country. The star, who shot to fame when she won the American Idol show, bought the jewellery at auction last year for more than £150,000, but culture minister Ed Vaizey has put a temporary export bar on the piece in a bid to keep it in the UK. The ring is one of only three surviving pieces of jewellery known to have belonged to the Pride and Prejudice author, having been given to her sister Cassandra and then passed down through the family before it was sold. Mr Vaizey said: ‘Jane Austen’s modest lifestyle and her early death mean that objects associated with her of any kind are extremely rare, so I hope that a UK buyer comes forward so this simple but elegant ring can be saved for the nation.’ The decision on the export licence will be deferred until September 30 and can be extended to December 30 if proof emerges of “a serious intention to raise funds” to match its six-figure price tag.

Filling the sky with a mass of colour, these extraordinary pictures show hundreds of balloons taking off during a new world record attempt.

A total of 408 hot air balloons took off from a former Nato base in Chambley, France, in the hope of setting a new record for a mass take-off.

The balloonists are taking part in the Lorraine Mondial international hot air balloon festival, which is held at the Chambley-Bussieres Aerodrome.

They were attempting to beat the previous record, which was only set on Saturday at the same festival when 343 balloons successfully took to the air.

This broke the previous record of 329 balloons, set in 2009.

The popular festival has been taking place in France since 1989 and attracts balloonists from around the world.

Previous record attempts at the festival have been hampered by bad weather. In 2011, hundreds of balloonists had to postpone their attempt while poor conditions cleared.

Hot air balloon festivals are held annually around the world every year.