Organisers of the fifth Malmesbury Kite Festival this weekend hope they don’t end up with egg on their faces when they introduce a new facet to the event.

They will be parachuting eggs from kites with the aim of bringing them gently to the ground without so much as a crack.

Organiser and veteran kite flyer Jon Caton said: “I’ve never tried it before. It’s an unknown quantity. It could be interesting.” Malmesbury Kite Group chairman Mr Caton said a popular part of the festival has always been parachuting teddy bears from kites. He said: “Children bring their bears along and love to see them gliding down to earth.

“We always like to do something different so, in addition to the teddy bears, we thought we’d try parachuting some eggs.”

The eggs are being supplied by Waitrose, which is opening a new supermarket on the edge of Malmesbury.

Mr Caton has some “kits” that should enable the eggs to come down in the same condition as they went up.

Egg-dropping workshops will be held at the two day event at Worthy’s, which is part of the town’s carnival month.

IT consultant Mr Caton, 62, a kite enthusiast for 20 years, said the festival will be “bigger and better than ever” with innovators Peter Powell Kites being present this year.

He said: “In the 1970s Peter Powell became world famous when he launched his original two-line kite to the mass market.

“This was the predecessor for the range of sports and stunt kites we are familiar with today.

"Now the Powell family is back with a new range of kites based on the original design. They will be demonstrating the new kites and making them available for the public to try.”

Dutch kite flying kings Team Sky Flyers will be flying “an impressive range of show kites, including their trademark kite trains”.

Mr Caton said: “We will have our usual competitions for kite fighting and altitude sprinting. If people don’t have their own kite there’s no need to worry – we have kites they can borrow.”

Entry is free on both Saturday and Sunday though there is a £2 car parking fee.

For details, see www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-kite-festival.html