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Flying Soldier Franky Zapata has failed in his attempt to fly across the Channel on his Flyboard on the 110th anniversary of pioneering pilot Louis Bleriot's first flight between France and England.

He fell into the water as he attempted to refuel midway through across the sea, according to reports from Sangatte. He was described as 'wet, but unhurt' after his tumble.

- which follwed the attempt live on its website. He was due to arrive at St Margaret’s Bay, just outside Dover, less than 30 minutes later - but the attempt was abandoned after he went into the water at the refuelling point.

The flying platform on which he is made his flight is capable of flying for 10 minutes at speeds of up to 190kph.

He was due to land on the boat and change backpacks, which contain kerosene, to complete his flight. Before take-off, Mr Zapata, 40, said: "Today, what we want is just to cross the Channel, even if technology does not allow us to do it all at once, the first Atlantic crossings were not non-stop."