AN elderly couple had a rude awakening this morning when a hot air balloon touched down in their front yard in Melbourne’s inner-east.

The Picture This Ballooning aircraft was carrying 10 passengers when it drifted down into the small garden of a house along Auburn St, Hawthorn, at 8.30am.

media_camera The balloon after touching down. Picture by Gabriel Montalban

media_camera The balloon was helped down when a long rope was dropped to the ground.

Neighbours looked on in awe as the balloon manoeuvred into a tight spot between two power lines lining the property.

Hot air balloon landed in resident’s garden in Auburn Road. Unsure if passengers are safe. Police have been informed. pic.twitter.com/IKQvfu4nXV — City of Boroondara (@Boroondara) February 10, 2014

Wow, they just landed a hot air balloon in a front yard along Auburn Rd! pic.twitter.com/5sVh2is1Vy — Birgit Loch (@loch_b) February 10, 2014

Mummy theres a balloon in our front yard. Thats nice darling #balloondown pic.twitter.com/6kpVlitjIh — Dave Williams (@DangerousDaveW) February 10, 2014

Home owner Don Pellegrino, 84, and his wife, Anna, we’re left shaken.

Mr Pellegrino said he was getting ready to eat breakfast when he heard a startling noise coming from outside his window.

His two grandchildren rushed over to help as soon as they heard the news.

Mr Pellegrino said his wife was “trembling” with concern for their wellbeing - as well as that of her rose garden, he added.

“I was worried about me and my wife,” he said.

“We can get another garden but you can’t get me back.”

media_camera The balloon can be seen nestled in the garden. Picture by Gabriel Montalban

Picture This Ballooning senior pilot Peter Wright said the balloon was forced to land for safety reasons due to increasingly light winds.

“When winds become light and variable it makes life a bit more difficult for us balloon pilots,” Mr Wright said.

He described the landing as “gentle”, adding that the balloon had some tears after it snagged on the gutter of the house but there was no other damage.

He dismissed there were safety concerns.

“Occasionally we do land in tight spots, that’s the nature of ballooning and thank heavens there’s still some adventure left in the world,” he said.

Tim Simmons, who lives next door to where the balloon landed, said he rushed outside when he heard the roaring gas burners.

“We walked into the back lane and just saw this enormous balloon,” Mr Simmons said.

“I’ve lived here nearly 30 years and this is the most exciting it’s been.”

He said the passengers appeared to be shocked but calm.

He said he was at first concerned the balloon was going to hit the power lines.

“They’d done an incredible job to land there without doing any damage or any harm,” he said.

Another neighbour, Jay Patel, said he was stunned as he watched the tight landing.

“It was scary,” he said.

“The balloon was very low and looked a bit dangerous so I’m glad everyone is safe.”

Police spokesman Belinda Batty said there were no injuries and no damage to the house.

Auburn Rd was blocked for more than two hours while crews cleared the scene.

Picture This Ballooning chief executive Damien Crock said it was rare for hot-air balloons to come down in residential areas, adding that this morning’s unscheduled landing was “highly controlled”.

“It was a highly uncommon landing, but the pilot made the determination that the garden was the best spot to land,” he said.

The landing was controlled by six staff on the ground, after the pilot chose the landing destination.

They manoeuvred the basket via a line dropped by the pilot, Mr Crock said.

The balloon basket has been loaded on to a trailer and taken from the scene.