An inventor nicknamed the “flying Frenchman” on Sunday became the first person to cross the Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard barely larger than a tea-tray.

“This feels magnificent,” said a triumphant Franky Zapata after he touched down in St Margaret’s Bay in Kent, just 23 minutes after taking off from Sangatte beach in Calais to cheers and shouts of “Go Franky, go”.

He flew across the 22-mile Channel at an average speed of 87 mph, about 50 to 65 feet above the water, on his self-designed hoverboard, powered by five turbojets.

It was fuelled by a backpack containing enough kerosene to keep him airborne for about 10 minutes. He stopped to swap backpacks on a boat in mid-Channel, which took no more than two minutes.

The 40-year-old’s first attempt had ended in failure when he tumbled into the sea while trying to refuel last month. This time, the refuelling boat was bigger and the landing area was larger.