A LUCKY Brownie from Malmesbury was left starstruck when she was surprised by one of her heroes, astronaut Major Tim Peake, at the Royal International Air Tattoo.

Annie Eagles, aged 10, who is part of the 2nd Malmesbury brownies, was told she would be receiving a prestigious Gold Award at the event at RAF Fairford on Friday, but did not know it would be Tim Peake who would be presenting it to her.

A rather overwhelmed Annie said: “It was amazing to meet Tim Peake.”

The Gold Award is a special accolade in the Brownies and gives the girls the opportunity to put everything they’ve learned into practice.

Annie had to collect six theme badges in order to achieve the award.

Tim made his unexpected appearance in the gravity-defying Lockheed Martin Space Café, located in the airshow’s Techno Zone, where they posed for the perfect opportunity making them look like they were in space.

Annie’s Mum Emma was with her for the presentation.

She said: “It’s absolutely amazing.

"We had no idea so this was a real surprise but it’s lovely.

"I think she was quite overwhelmed actually, I was quite overwhelmed. I’m so proud of her.”

The Techno Zone has aviation at its heart and is where STEM subjects are brought to life and showcased with cutting edge and interactive activities designed to engage and inspire future engineers.