IT'S one hell of a takeaway.

One customer was so impressed by the food at a Hampshire Indian restaurant that he came from Gloucestershire to collect it - in a military jet.

He landed at Southampton International Airport yesterday, where staff from Winchester curry house Balaka, who don't normally deliver further than three miles, were on hand to pass over the ordered meal for 20 people.

Piping hot in sealed bags, it was stored in the plane's nose cone and flown at nearly 1,000mph back to the airfield at Kemble in Gloucestershire, 60 miles away.

Customer Shaun Patrick was celebrating the 50th anniversary of ex-RAF jet the Hawker Hunter, entering military service.

Yesterday was also the first day that the jet had been flown in ten years after being refitted.

The ex-military jet enthusiast and civilian pilot decided to mark the occasion by treating all the staff that had worked on the project to an Indian meal.

He flew a different type of plane - a Jet Provost, which used to be part of the RAF's aerobatic team The Poachers - to collect the meal.

Mr Patrick found out about the restaurant after seeing it feature in a BBC TV programme where staff catered for a wedding on a plane.

He mistakenly thought that Balaka supplied Indian takeaways around the world.

"We thought they can supply one for us but instead of them sending it round the world on a passenger jet, we will come and pick it up!" added Mr Patrick.

Humian Adlad, waiter at the restaurant in Stoney Lane, Weeke, said: "We thought it was a wind-up at first. He said he would like it delivered. We couldn't find Kemble on the map and when he said where it was, we said we don't deliver that far. He said he would send a jet to come and collect it."

Mr Patrick asked the restaurant to prepare dishes with a mixture of chicken, lamb and king prawns.

And the cost of the meal? A reasonable £150 with an extra £10 added to the bill to cover the cost of delivering it to Southampton Airport.