Veille ufologique américaine
Mais ce n'est pas une vidéo qui vient de l'état britannique ?
MoD's latest UFO files reveal saucerful of secretsAlan Travis The Guardian, Monday 17 August 2009National Archives indicate 800 sightings in four-year period, while police and military staff are among those reported as UFO witnessesTwo terrified youths who ran into a Staffordshire police station were in no doubt they had seen a UFO land in a field near Chasetown after they experienced an intense heat when they were walking up Rugeley Road, Burntwood, at 11pm on 4 May 1995."Their skin turned a glowing red," said the Staffordshire police inspector's report. "They saw a darkish silver inverted saucer shaped object in a field, which was glowing red beneath. The object was about four houses high in the sky and about 40ft away from them. They then, reluctantly, went on to state that a voice, which came from a lemon-like head, which appeared beneath the machine, said: 'We want you, come with us'."Neither was drunk or under the influence of illegal substances and the next day both provided the police with detailed written reports of what they had seen, but when the police visited the field a local farmer said he had been crop spraying there but had not seen anything unusual.Officially documented reports of cases of attempted alien abduction may not feature strongly in daily Downing Street briefings but the release of the latest batch of the Ministry of Defence's UFO files reveals a hidden British obsession with flying saucers and such close encounters.The 14 files released today by the National Archives include more than 800 sightings reported between 1993 and 1996, and contain more than 4,000 pages of material dating back to 1981.This is the fourth batch of UFO files to be released since May last year and it indicates the MoD has been unwavering in its belief there is "no evidence whatsoever to suggest that intelligent life from outer space or alien spacecraft have landed on our planet".But few of its correspondents appear willing to believe them, and for many UFO fiction quickly becomes UFO fact. This is borne out by the figures for UFO sightings, which peaked at 609 reports in 1996 – more than the three preceding years put together. A fact that may be explained by the popularity of Agents Scully and Mulder and the X-Files series (pictured right) broadcast on British TV that year.The files do show, though, that not all the sightings and reports were without foundation. Bright lights seen across Devon and Cornwall, South Wales and Shropshire in the early hours of 31 March 1993 by 70 police and military witnesses were documented in more than 30 sightings reported to the MoD over a six-hour period. The reports said it was very big, shaped like a catamaran and was completely silent. The MoD's UFO desk, known as section (AS)2a, asked the RAF to replay its radar tapes but nothing unusual was detected.The head of the UFO section told Sir Anthony Bagnall, the assistant chief of the air staff, that given the quality of the witnesses the sightings could not simply be written off: "It seems that an unidentified object of unknown origin was operating in the UK air defence region without being detected on radar; this would appear to be of considerable defence significance." There were detailed inquiries, particularly of the Americans, over whether they were testing any new "stealth" aircraft over Britain, but the MoD finally established what had been seen was a Russian rocket re-entering the earth's atmosphere after launching a Cosmos satellite.Similarly, dozens of sightings, during 1993 and 1994, of a brightly illuminated oval object were reported over London. Inquiries established this was a Virgin airship advertising the launch of the Ford Mondeo but several correspondents refused to believe it.The newly released files also throw light on an incident near an American airbase in Suffolk in 1980 known as Britain's "Roswell" – where it was claimed the US military had recovered an alien spacecraft in 1947. The file shows that Lord Hill-Norton, a former chief of the defence staff, told the then defence secretary, Michael Heseltine, that it was a "potential banana skin looming for the MoD". He said if the account of the sighting by the US deputy base commander at USAF Woodbridge had to be dismissed then it was evidence that a sizeable number of American military personnel at important bases in British territory were capable of "serious misperception, the consequences of which might be grave in military terms".The so-called Rendlesham incident – after the forest near the base – remains Britain's best-known UFO sighting and confirms the general MoD view that "it is clear from the reports that we receive that there are many strange things to be seen in the sky".Explanations can be found for most of them. Even the ufologists agree that in 99% of cases they will be aircraft lights, satellites in orbits or debris re-entering the atmosphere, high altitude kites, helium or weather balloons, searchlights or lasers.But even the defence specialists admit there will always be some sightings that appear to defy explanation: "We remain open-minded about these," is the official position. Or as the president of Strange Phenomena Investigations put it: "There are still many wonders out there … The search must go on."
Lemonheads, a flying saucer and a field"We want you, come with us," were the words coming out of a lemon-shaped head, according to one report.The figure wanted the young boys who had stopped in a field at 11.55pm on May 4, 1995 in Chasetown, Staffordshire, to stare at what they believed was a UFO.The pair ran to a police station and breathlessly asked the officers on duty to come outside and look across the distance at the glowing-red saucer-shaped object. Police thought it was an aircraft. The episode is recorded in official files released today by the Ministry of Defence.The officer's report says the boys arrived "agitated and distressed" after gazing at the UFO that emitted an intense heat before zig-zagging off east to west. "They stated the object was about four houses high in the sky and about 40 foot away from them," said the report."They then, reluctantly, went on to say that a voice which came from a lemon-like head, which appeared beneath the machine said, We want you, come with us'."Both appeared upset and shocked and as such it was increasingly difficult to obtain detailed information from them." The boys were sent home and told to write up their account.One of the boys said they were drawn to the field by an intense heat.When they walked into the field off Rugeley Road, Burntwood, there was a flash of light then some sort of spaceship allegedly appeared. It sent his friend's face "the colour of beetroot" the boy wrote.After hearing the command to go with the lemonhead, he told his friend to "run"."I couldn't hardly breathe sic and we turned around, it just shot off in the air and the sky didn't light up."It just went. Vanished."Two days after the sighting, police visited the spot and discovered a farmer spraying his crops. He said he had seen nothing unusual.© All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Former Armed Forces head wanted probe into UFO sighting, newly released files showA former head of the Armed Forces wrote to the Defence Secretary urging him to “demonstrate a more serious concern” over a now famous UFO sighting, files released by the Ministry of Defence reveal. By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent and Ben LeachPublished: 12:01AM BST 17 Aug 2009Lord Hill-Norton, a former Chief of Defence Staff, wrote to Michael Heseltine some years after a mysterious incident in which several US Air Force personnel reported seeing a strange metallic object hovering in Rendlesham Forest Photo: GETTY The incident is just one among the hundreds of reports of UFO close encounters, from aliens with lemon-shaped heads to laser beams being shot to earth, contained in the files. Other episodes include when two “sober” Glastonbury festival goers saw a flying saucer hover overhead and dozens of sightings which turned out to be a Virgin Airship and two boys who claimed an alien told them: "We want you, come with us". Lord Hill-Norton, a former Chief of Defence Staff, wrote to Michael Heseltine some years after a mysterious incident in which several US Air Force personnel reported seeing a strange metallic object hovering in Rendlesham Forest near RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk. The incident, in the early morning of December 27, 1980, has become known as “Britain’s own Roswell”, and has never been fully explained. The late Lord Hill-Norton, a member of what he described as the “rather ineffective” House of Lords UFO Group, wrote to Mr Heseltine in May 1985 to express his concern over the “puzzling and disquieting features” of the case. He referred to the USAF report submitted by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt in which the deputy base commander details the account of three patrolmen. Lt Col Halt wrote: “The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three metres across the base and approximately two metres high. It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. “The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it manoeuvred through the trees and disappeared.” The commander himself described witnessing three depressions in the ground the next day where the object had been sighted. And later that night he was among several men who saw a “red sun-like light” through the trees which “moved about and pulsed”. Lord Hill-Norton also wrote: “Your officials should be ready to demonstrate a more serious concern with its implications than they have so far manifested. There seems to be a head of steam building up on this matter, and I can see a potential ‘banana-skin’ looming.” An MoD briefing was handed to the Defence Secretary following Lord Hill-Norton’s letter for use in a House of Lords Defence debate. The note states the MoD’s final position on the incident, saying the USAF report was “carefully examined” and the conclusion was that there was “no Defence interest” and “no evidence of anything having intruded into British airspace”. It noted: “Indeed the high visibility of the phenomenon reported – multicoloured bright lights – is totally inconsistent with a covert entry into the UK.” The briefing note said UFO sightings were “not a matter the MoD take lightly” and continued: “I can accept that people do from time to time see things in the sky which they find difficult to explain. "I am sure your Lordships will agree that in many cases normal explanations come to light, such as falling meteorites or satellite debris, unusual cloud formations or aircraft lights... What the true explanation is, I do not know.” The incident is just one of countless mysterious reports released as part of a three-year project between the Ministry of Defence and The National Archives, aimed at opening up the records to a worldwide audience. This fourth instalment consists of 14 files of sightings, letters and Parliamentary Questions – 4,000 pages in total. Other reports in the files include - Two “sober” revellers saw a flying saucer hover over the Glastonbury music festival but claimed others failed to “tune into” it because they were too interested in the music. The pair said they were “standing soberly” in a field when the craft appeared from nowhere over the Jazz field and seemed to “communicate” with them in 1994. One, a metaphysics student, said: “It appeared to be coming towards us and quite suddenly it changed colours. “It went from red and orange to yellow and green. This really had an amazing impact on me because I was wearing yellow and green.” - Dozens of people across London reported the sighting of a brilliant white flying saucer with flashing lights floating across the night sky during 1993 and 1994. But an investigation by the MOD concluded that the craft responsible for the phenomenon was much more mundane – a Virgin Airship advertising the Ford Mondeo, a new car. Despite everyone from students revising in Tottenham to dog walkers in Richmond insisting it was real – even producing detailed sketches – the sightings were dismissed as mistaken by the authorities. - Two youths on their way home just before midnight claimed they were accosted by a lemon-shaped headed alien who said “We want you, come with us”. One of the boys said they were drawn to a field in Chasetown, Staffordshire on May 4 1955 by an intense heat. There was a flash of light then some sort of spaceship allegedly appeared that sent his friend’s face “the colour of beetroot”. The officer’s report reads the boys, who insisted they were “not drunk or on drugs”, arrived “agitated and distressed” after gazing at the UFO which emitted an intense heat before zigzagging off east to west. - Between November 1989 and April 1990 the Belgian Air Force scrambled fighter jets to investigate potential UFOs in its airspace. Despite reports from police, radar contact and other eyewitness accounts, the authorities never solved what was repeatedly hovering unannounced in their skies. The first wave of observations began on November 29 and three days later on the evening of December 2, two F-16s were sent to the Liege area to investigate a sighting, although they found nothing. But according to an air force ground controller, the “echo” on the radar vanished when the planes arrived but returned when the F-16s left. The mystery resulted in correspondence between the Belgians and Britain’s Ministry of Defence, who were told none of Belgium’s neighbours were informed of the air breach.
Secret MoD files reveal UFOs went to the topDefence chief warned Mrs Thatcher that ignoring sighting was a 'banana-skin'By Steve ConnorMonday, 17 August 2009A former chief of defence staff warned Margaret Thatcher's government in 1985 that its "perfunctory" dismissal of UFO sightings near an RAF base shared with the US Air Force in Suffolk could turn into a political "banana-skin" because it was unexplained.In a letter to Michael Heseltine, Mrs Thatcher's defence secretary at the time, the late Lord Hill-Norton said the sightings of unidentified flying objects in Rendelsham Forest by USAF personnel in December 1980 had "puzzling and disquieting" features that have never been satisfactorily explained. The letter, written on 1 May 1985 is among official government documents on UFOs released today by the Ministry of Defence to the National Archives. Fourteen files containing more than 4,000 pages spanning 15 years between 1981 and 1996 have been placed online. Related articlesMore UK News Lord Hill-Norton's letter covers perhaps the best-known British UFO incident of the period when the USAF twice reported mysterious lights and a metallic flying object in the woods at the perimeter of the base. They said a triangular-shaped object had left radiation traces and three visible markings in the ground. Colonel Charles Halt, the USAF deputy base commander, who saw the lights himself, wrote a short report on 13 January 1981, but the Ministry of Defence denied all knowledge of the events until the colonel's memorandum was released in June 1983 under the US Freedom of Information Act. The MoD's public response was that the incident had no defence interest. "My personal view, having considered the fragmentary but compelling evidence brought to public knowledge by the media, is that the case cannot be disposed of in these rather perfunctory terms," Lord Hill-Norton wrote. "If the report made by the USAF authorities in January 1981 is accurate, there is evidence that British airspace and territory are vulnerable to unwarranted intrusion to a disturbing degree. "If, on the other hand, the report of the deputy base commander must be dismissed ... then we have evidence – no less disturbing, I suggest – that a sizeable number of USAF personnel at an important base in British territory are capable of serious misperception, the consequences of which might be grave in military terms." The MoD reply repeateded that if there were sightings of unidentified flying objects they did not have any defence significance. A "final position statement" was prepared in 1985 by officials for the defence minister, Lord David Trefgarne. "It is highly unlikely that any violation of UK airspace would be heralded by such a display of lights," the file continues. "I think it equally unlikely that any reconnaissance or spying activity would be announced in this way.". Other MoD documents released relate a UFO incident in Belgium in 1989 and 1990 when Belgian Air Force F-16 fighters were scrambled to intercept strange, brightly-lit, triangular-shaped flying objects reported by police and others. A statement sent to the MoD in November 1993 by General Wilfried de Brouwer, chief of operations in the Belgian Air Staff, confirmed that the fighters had locked-on to something with their radar but were unable to explain what it was. The MoD said there had been no threat to the UK and that it has never detected a "structured craft flying in UK airspace that has remained unidentified". One report in the MoD file details a supposed encounter by two Staffordshire teenagers who rushed into a police station late on 4 May 1995 claiming that they had been stopped in a field by aliens with lemon-shaped heads who told them, "We want you; come with us", then vanished in a glowing-red saucer. 'X-Files' blamed for rise in sightings This is the fourth instalment of files on UFOs being released by the Ministry of Defence to the National Archives and they include details of a wide variety of "sightings" that may owe more to Mulder and Scully, above, than little green men. The files contain UFO reports of 800 sightings between January 1993 and August 1996, but in 1996 alone 609 incidents were logged, three times more than all the previous three years together. "The large increase in numbers during 1996 may reflect increased public awareness of UFOs and aliens due to the popularity of the TV series The X Files and the release of the movie Independence Day," said David Clarke of Sheffield Hallam University, a consultant to the National Archives on the MoD's UFO files. Some of the sightings had a rational explanation, such as the reports of a brightly illuminated oval object moving slowly over London during 1993 and 1994. It was actually a Virgin airship advertising the launch of the Ford Mondeo which as seen even by the MoD's UFO desk officer. Another explicable sighting was early on 31 March 1993 by police and military personnel from RAF Cosford near Wolverhampton. More than 30 sightings of fast-moving bright lights were reported but they were caused by the re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere of the Russian Cosmos 2238 satellite. And two youths reported a UFO landing in a field at Chasetown in Staffordshire. They told police they were hit by a blast of heat, and a face appeared with a voice saying, "We want you; come with us." They panicked and fled. Cheshire police reported an apparent alien attack in a cemetery which left a smouldering railway sleeper with a hole burned through it. Bonnybridge in southern Scotland became a hotspot for UFO sightings in the mid-1990s with 3,000 reports of mystery objects in the sky. A Bonnybridge councillor tried to get the town twinned with Roswell, the New Mexico town were some people believe an alien spacecraft crashed in 1947, a craft dismissed by the US military as a high-altitude surveillance balloon.
MoD's secret UFO files tell of 'alien Toblerones' over ScotlandPublished Date: 17 August 2009 By Craig Brown ON A dark night, in the middle of an electric storm, a motorist in Dumfriesshire had an unnerving encounter with what appeared to be beings from another world.The man said he witnessed a "Toblerone-shaped object" descending from the sky in Annandale. Climbing into his car, he drove to the field where he thought it had landed. As he approached the area, though, the man said his car packed up and the torch that he had taken with him refused to work.Unable to find the object, he went to the police who, unable to explain the mystery, reported it to the Ministry of Defence's special UFO investigation unit.The 1994 story is one of many contained in documents released today by the National Archives, which detail about 800 UFO reports made to the MoD between 1981 and 1996. They include tales of attempted abductions, along with sightings of aliens with lemon-shaped heads and flying saucers over Glastonbury.In Scotland, the Stirlingshire town of Bonnybridge became a touchstone for UFO-ologists after it became an apparent hotspot for sightings in the mid-1990s.At the height of its fame, it was claimed 3,000 sightings had been reported, and such was the hysteria surrounding the area that local councillor William Buchanan wrote to then prime minister John Major, calling unsuccessfully for an inquiry to be launched. He also tried to have Bonnybridge twinned with the UFO hotspot Roswell in the United States. Across the UK, there were 285 alleged UFO sightings reported to the MoD in 2008 – twice the number recorded in 2007. Nick Pope, who ran the British government's UFO project at the MoD in the early 1990s, believes that, while many sightings could be explained away, there were those for which no rational explanation could be given. Having investigated many of the Bonnybridge incidents himself, he said that there were some that could not be explained. "Our position at the MoD was, while not trying to cover it up, we had a policy of not talking these sightings up," he said."There were clearly a large number of UFO sightings in the area, but we felt that the public was creating a self-fulfilling prophesy, whereby any aircraft light seen above Bonnybridge was being reported."But, certainly, the reports were more interesting to us when they featured large black triangular aircraft. That was a description that we had from many people around the country."Mr Pope said it was during the same period that Scotland became the focus of rumours that the US air force was carrying out secret tests on a spy plane code-named Aurora, which matched roughly the description of the sightings. The Scotsman reported in 1992 that a jet travelling at more than three times the speed of sound was being tested near Machrihanish air base in Argyll. Despite questions from the UK at the highest level, the Americans denied any involvement.The releases are part of a three-year project by the MoD and the National Archives, aimed at opening up the records to a worldwide audience.Dr David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "It's evident there is some connection between newspaper stories, TV programmes and films about alien visitors, and the numbers of UFO sightings reported to the MoD."Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD over the past half century was 1978 – the year Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released."Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities."Far out, man. ET was on the bill at GlastonburySUMMER music festival Glastonbury is no stranger to weird sights but in 1994 two revellers reckoned they saw a UFO over the jazz tent.A woman and a friend were "standing soberly" in a field when the craft appeared from nowhere and seemed to "communicate" with them.In documents released today, above right, the woman wrote she and her friend saw a "twirling set of moving lights attached to what must have been a circular object"."It was unlike anything we knew and so I immediately said it must be a UFO/spaceship," she said. "The lights were below this circular object and flashing in a way that was communicating to us."She added: "It was also silent and the way it glided was the smoothest and most effortless motion I had seen in the sky."The woman – who insisted she was sober – said the lights on the "flying saucer" – yellow, red and green – spun round."And it was as if once we had both agreed it must be a UFO that it swirled around and glided down straight towards us, as crazy as this sounds. As this happened we really became quite frightened but awestruck. Hair stood on end on my arms and my heart was pounding. It then glided to the right and away again."None of the other revellers spotted it. But the woman's friend, a metaphysics students, told investigators the same story and the pair drew similar diagrams.He said: "It appeared to be coming towards us and quite suddenly it changed colours. It went from red and orange to yellow and green. This really had an amazing impact on me because I was wearing yellow and green."Lemon-headed alien told us: We want you, come with us. I said: Let's runA LEMON-SHAPED head told two schoolboys, "We want you, come with us," one report revealed today.The boys had stopped in a field at 23:55 on 4 May, 1995 in Chasetown, Staffordshire, to stare at what they believed was an UFO.The pair ran to a local police station and breathlessly asked the officers on duty to come outside and look across the distance at the glowing-red, saucer-shaped object. Police thought it was an aircraft.The officer's report says the boys arrived "agitated and distressed" after gazing at the UFO which emitted an intense heat before zigzagging off east to west."They stated the object was about four houses high in the sky and about 40 foot away from them," says the report. "They then, reluctantly, went on to say that a voice which came from a lemon-like head, which appeared beneath the machine, said, 'We want you, come with us'."Both appeared upset and shocked and as such it was increasingly difficult to obtain detailed information from them."The boys were sent home and told to write up their account, above and below.One of the boys said they were drawn to the field by an intense heat.When they walked into the field, there was a flash of light then some sort of spaceship allegedly appeared. It sent his friend's face "the colour of beetroot", one of the boys wrote.His friend wrote after hearing the command to go with the lemon-head: "I just said, run." He added: "It just shot off in the air. It just went. Vanished."Files reveal 'spacecraft' may have been secret US spy planeA SECRET US spy plane – the existence of which has never been officially admitted – may have been behind a number of UFO sightings, newly released files suggest.More than 70 witnesses, including police and military personnel, reported sightings in Devon, Cornwall, South Wales and Shropshire in the early hours of 31 March, 1993, with many describing a large, low-flying object which made a low humming sound.In a briefing note to the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (ACAS), Sir Anthony Bagnall, the head of the Ministry of Defence's UFO desk wrote that there was evidence of an unidentified craft evading UK defences.He said he would not normally concern Sir Anthony with UFO sightings but continued: "You may wish to be aware of a recent particularly unusual incidence of UFO sightings over the UK, involving descriptions that match some of the reported characterisations of the so-called 'Aurora'."The Aurora was the name given to an unmanned US reconnaissance aircraft supposedly developed in secret "black" programmes in the 1980s and alleged to be capable of hypersonic flight.The plane was the subject of much speculation at the time and the British government was forced to deny allowing experimental flights over the UK.In his message, dated 22 April, the head of the UFO desk wrote: "There would seem to be some evidence on this occasion that an unidentified object (or objects) of unknown origin was operating over the UK."If there has been some activity of US origins which is known to a limited circle in MoD and is not being acknowledged it is difficult to investigate further."A response from Sir Anthony came back stating: "In spite of the quantity of the many witnesses who reported the unusual sightings on 31 March, I can add nothing to the debate."The head of the UFO desk was later urged to drop the subject.'More serious concern' urged over famous sightingA FORMER head of the armed forces wrote to the defence secretary urging him to "demonstrate a more serious concern" over a famous UFO sighting.Lord Hill-Norton, a former Chief of Defence Staff, wrote to Michael Heseltine some years after a mysterious incident in which several US air force personnel reported seeing a strange metallic object hovering in Rendlesham Forest near RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk.The incident, in the early morning of 27 December, 1980, has become known as "Britain's own Roswell", and has never been fully explained.The late Lord Hill-Nortonreferred to the USAF report submitted by Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt in which the deputy base commander details the account of three patrolmen who reported seeing a hovering glowing triangular metallic object illuminating a forest with a white light.Later he was among several men who saw a "red sun-like light" through the trees which "moved about and pulsed". He said: "At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and disappeared."'Wailing light the size of house followed boy and fired laser beams into ground'ONE youngster claimed he saw a UFO hovering over a cemetery before it fired burning laser beams into the ground.The young man – "a sensible sort of lad and genuine", according to a police report, above – was making his way home after a night out in Widnes, Cheshire, at 2.30am on 15 July, 1996.According to the police log, a bright yellow light followed the youngster, who was crossing a footbridge.The light was "two houses high", he reported, and it pursued him when he tried to walk away from it.The lad told police the UFO made a high-pitched noise "like cats wailing", before blasting light beams downwards.He and his father later returned to the spot and found four railway sleepers smouldering, one with a 4in hole burnt through it.
THE TRUTH IS OUT... SECRET X-FILES REVEAL ‘HUNDREDS OF UFOS’ UFO and Big Ben, London Monday August 17,2009 By Martyn Brown TRAVELLERS from outer space could be nearer than you think – perhaps even hovering over your back garden.For Britain’s real-life X-Files have been opened, revealing hundreds of UFO sightings.It seems it is not just singer Robbie Williams who is a confirmed Ufologist – he claims he’s seen evidence three times. Flying saucers are whizzing with reckless abandon all over the place.Attempted abductions by extra-terrestrial beings, aliens with lemon-shaped heads and laser beams being shot to earth, are not just the stuff of sc-fi movies, according to secret files being released today by the Ministry of Defence.The most intriguing of the UK’s 800 close encounters between 1980 and 1996, was the Rendlesham Forest incident in 1980.Known as Britain’s Roswell, a reference to America’s UFO crash riddle of 1947, a mysterious metallic object was spotted hovering in the woods near RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk.Lord Hill-Norton, a former head of the armed services, wrote to then Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine in 1985 expressing his concern over its “puzzling and disquieting features.” In his letter made public today, Lord Hill-Norton referred to the US Air Force report which details how three American patrolmen saw a “strange glowing object” in the forest on December 27, 1980. It was metallic in appearance and triangular, hovering`or on legs with blue lights beneath.The spooky sighting was later described by the Ministry of Defence as having “no defence interest” and there was “no evidence of anything having intruded into British airspace”.Other mysterious UFO encounters recorded on file included more than 30 sightings of bright lights over central England in just six hours in March 1993. It was later discovered most were caused by a Russian rocket re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. Another incident was of wailing noises and mysterious lights being beamed on to a cemetery in Cheshire in July 1996. Investigations found four smouldering railway sleepers, one with a hole burnt through it.Summer music festival Glastonbury is no stranger to weird sights but in 1994 two revellers reckoned they saw a UFO over the jazz tent.Nick Pope, who used to investigate sightings for the MoD says: “There are some amazing cases in these real-life X-Files, including near-misses between UFOs and commercial aircraft. There are some things you just cannot rule out.”Many encounters are blamed on a secret US spy plane – the existence of which has never been officially admitted. The Aurora plane was apparently responsible for 70 sightings in one day in March 1993.
Minister warned over 'UK Roswell' The files include sketches of UFOs drawn by witnessesA former head of the armed forces told the defence secretary a UFO claim known as Britain's Roswell could be a "banana skin", newly released files show.In 1985 Lord Hill-Norton wrote to Michael Heseltine about the "Rendlesham incident" in 1980, when US airmen in Suffolk said they saw strange lights. He said an authorised aircraft may have entered and left UK airspace. In 2003, an ex-US security policeman said he and another airman had shone patrol car lights as a prank. The case is among the latest MoD files on UFOs released by the National Archives. 'Puzzling and disquieting'The "Rendlesham incident" involved American airmen from RAF Woodbridge who reported seeing mysterious lights. Witnesses said a UFO was transmitting blue pulsating lights and sending nearby farm animals into a "frenzy". Lord Hill-Norton's letter said either a craft had entered UK airspace with impunity or US airmen were capable of a "serious misperception". But in 2003, ex-US security policeman Kevin Conde admitted that he and another airman had shone patrol car lights through the trees and made noises on the loudspeaker as a prank. But in 1985, Lord Hill-Norton - a former chief of the defence staff and First Sea Lord - wrote to Mr Heseltine, the then-defence secretary, to express his feelings about the event. In his letter, Lord Hill-Norton said he rejected the official MoD line that the case was of "no defence interest", adding that it displayed "puzzling and disquieting features which have never been satisfactorily explained by your department". He said it was either the case that a piloted craft had entered and left UK airspace with "complete impunity" or "a sizeable number of USAF personnel at an important base in British territory are capable of serious misperception". Lord Hill-Norton added: "There seems to be a head of steam building up on this matter, and I can see a potential 'banana skin' [a political embarrassment] looming." The "Roswell incident" refers to the belief among UFO watchers that in 1947 a flying saucer with aliens on board landed outside the New Mexico town of Roswell and that an elaborate cover-up by the authorities followed. The National Archives release is part of a three-year project by the MoD and the National Archives to release files related to UFOs on the National Archives website. Other incidents recorded in the latest batch of documents, which cover the years 1981 to 1996, include: • Two men from Staffordshire who told police that, as they returned home from an evening out in 1995, an alien appeared under a hovering UFO hoping to take them away • More than 30 sightings of bright lights over central England during a six-hour period in 1993, which led to the assistant chief of defence staff being briefed - and turned out to be caused by a Russian rocket re-entering the atmosphere • Several sightings in Bonnybridge, central Scotland, which became the UK's UFO hotspot during the 1990s • A UFO which was seen over the jazz stage at the Glastonbury Festival in June 1994. The two female witnesses reported that they turned to the people next to them to verify what they had seen but "they didn't look hard enough or take it seriously" It is also revealed that UFO sightings leapt from 117 in 1995 to 609 in 1996 - the year that Will Smith's alien invader blockbuster Independence Day was released and alien conspiracy series The X Files was at the height of its popularity with UK audiences. Dr David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, said it was significant that one of the biggest years for reports previously had been 1978, which saw 750 - at the same time that Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released. He added: "Obviously, films and TV programmes raise awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see. "In the 1950s you have UFOs with flashing dials like in the b-movies of the time, and the aliens tend to come from Venus and Mars - that stops from the late '60s when we find out how inhospitable these places are. "From the mid-1980s you start to see triangular-shaped objects - this is the era of US stealth aircraft. I think it's clear that people see what they expect to see."
MoD reveals close encounter details(UKPA) – 6 minutes agoAttempted abductions, scrambled fighter jets and flying saucers over Glastonbury are among the hundreds of dramatic reports of close encounters released by the Ministry of Defence.From aliens with lemon-shaped heads to laser beams being shot to earth, the MoD and The National Archives have released approximately 800 sightings from 1981 to 1996."We want you, come with us," one alien apparently told two terrified Staffordshire boys after appearing from under a hovering UFO.The boys, whose faces glow red from the spaceship's incredible heat, run for their lives and report the incident to police. It is just one of countless mysterious reports released as part of a three-year project between the MoD and The National Archives, aimed at opening up the records to a worldwide audience.This fourth instalment consists of 14 files of sightings, letters and Parliamentary Questions - 4,000 pages in total.The records feature papers relating to the famous "Rendlesham Forest" sightings, often described as "Britain's Roswell", and the MoD's final position statement on the incident.Other highlights include: More than 30 sightings of bright lights over central England in just six hours in March 1993. Witnesses included police officers and military personnel and the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff was briefed. It was later discovered that most of the sightings were caused by a Russian rocket re-entering the earth's atmosphere.Many of the UFO reports in this tranche were filed in 1996, the year Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day was released which also coincided with the growing popularity of the X-Files TV series. Experts believe this goes some way to explaining a spike in UFO sightings - from 117 in 1995 to 609 in 1996 (MoD statistics).Dr David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, said: "It's evident there is some connection between newspaper stories, TV programmes and films about alien visitors and the numbers of UFO sightings reported to the MoD."Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD over the past half century was 1978 - the year Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released. Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see."Copyright © 2009 The Press Association. All rights reserved.
Questions remain unanswered after release of UFO filesAugust 16, 2009 22:07 EDTLONDON (AP) -- Documents released by the British government detail an American Air Force officer's account of an apparent UFO sighting in December 1980 -- one of Britain's most famous.But the files on the "Rendlesham Forest Incident" shed no more light on the mysterious sighting related by Lt. Col. Charles Halt, who talked of "a strange glowing object" in the forest outside the gates of RAF Woodridge, a U.S. air base in eastern England.The British Defense Ministry couldn't explain the incident, but concluded at the time that the unidentified flying object posed no threat. Halt's account was included in more than 4,000 pages posted online by the National Archives.
Details of East Anglia UFO sightings revealedVICTORIA NICHOLLSLast updated: 17/08/2009 01:00:00It is easy to see how the wide-open skies of East Anglia lend themselves to the mystery and intrigue that surround UFO sightings.So it should be no surprise that newly revealed “X-Files” include a report of an unexplained sighting over Norwich.Today, the National Archives is launching its latest online release of secret UFO files that were compiled by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).Among the papers is an account given by an employee at Norwich Prison in November 1994 who reported seeing strange lights while looking out over the city from the building on Mousehold Heath.The statement read: “At approximately 4.15pm a member of the support staff asked me whether I could identify a row of bright lights to the west. “Together we looked at a map of the city and concluded that the lights were on the ground in the vicinity of the university. They appeared to be the kind of lights used on a sports ground. My colleague had not noticed them before.”The witness described returning to the window the following day at 7.45am and that while searching the skyline, their eyes were “made conscious” of two lights, saying: “At first I thought the scene was ordinary enough; the rising sun was already strong and it seemed that I was seeing two hot air balloons, formed from a silvery material.”But they said there were no baskets or bursts of flame, adding: “Without the objects having moved in relation to the building beneath them, after about a minute they both vanished in an instant; they did not diminish in intensity of light or size but vanished from view.”East Anglia is also highlighted in a sighting in Newmarket in October 1995 of a triangular-shaped craft, glowing bright white that was flying towards Norfolk, higher than a normal aircraft and without navigational lights. Today marks the fourth instalment of files being made public as they are transferred from the MoD to the National Archives. That includes documents spanning 1981 to 1996 and features papers relating to the famous Rendlesham Forest sightings in 1980, when US Air Force personnel claimed that a UFO had landed. As well as featuring a famous memo by Lt Col Charles Halt detailing events, the files include the MoD's final position statement saying there was no evidence of a threat to national defence, and that nothing showed up on radar. Other highlights include a close encounter the same year with two youths in Staffordshire heading home across a field from an evening out. They reported being terrified when a lemon-headed alien supposedly appeared from under a hovering UFO and said: “We want you, come with us.”Dr David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, highlighted a leap in reported sightings from 117 in 1995 to 609 in 1996 - the year Independence Day was released and popular television series the X-Files was at its peak.He added: “Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD over the past half century was 1978 - the year Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released.“Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities.” The batch of files is available for download free of charge for a month at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos
UFO sightings were up five-fold in 1996... By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 2:27 AM on 17th August 2009It was the year in which television's The X-Files fuelled conspiracy theories and the film Independence Day chilled cinema-goers with visions of an alien invasion. But in 1996 the little green men and their strange flying craft weren't just seen on screen. At least, not according to hundreds of Britons. A photo of an unidentified flying object, supplied by Denis Plunkett from Bristol. The pensioner dedicated his life to tracking UFOs and founded the world's oldest UFO societyGovernment 'X- files', released today, show that in 1996 the number of reported sightings of unidentified flying objects soared. As Will Smith heroically defended Earth from an alien attack in Independence Day and Mulder and Scully set out to prove 'the truth is out there' in The X-Files, here in Britain the number of UFO sightings leapt from 117 to 609. Last night Dr David Clarke, a UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who has studied the files, said: 'I think there has got to be some kind of connection - it was a year when people were absolutely obsessed with UFOs and aliens. Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD over the past half century was 1978 - the year Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released. 'Obviously, films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see to the authorities.' Details of some of the sightings have been released, as part of a three-year project between the Ministry of Defence and The National Archives. In 1996 The X-Files was at the height of its popularity. Launched in 1993 ratings for the show mushroomed as it swung from cult viewing to mainstream hit. In 1997 the number of reported sightings dropped slightly, but remained high at 425, but in 1998 they dropped back to 193. The reports from 1996 included a sighting from a young man who told police he had seen a UFO hovering over a cemetery in Cheshire before it fired burning laser beams into the ground.
Britain publishes more UFO files, but few answersPubdate:2009-08-17 11:46 Beijing ChinaSource:AP Author:AP browse:8 LONDON – The deputy commander of a U.S. Air Force base in England was baffled by what he'd seen: bright, pulsing lights in the night sky.Britain's defense ministry couldn't explain it either, but concluded that the unidentified flying object posed no threat.The National Archives on Monday released the government's complete file on the "Rendlesham Forest Incident" of December 1980, one of Britain's most famous UFO sightings.It was among more than 4,000 pages posted online Monday documenting 800 alleged encounters during the 1980s and 1990s. Over the past three years the Ministry of Defense has been gradually releasing previously secret UFO papers after facing Freedom of Information demands.The Rendlesham file contains U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Charles Halt's first-hand account of the event, which has been public knowledge for many years. The file includes the conclusions of a British government investigation and a letter from a former defense chief urging officials to take UFOs more seriously.Halt reported that two servicemen had noticed "unusual lights" about 3 a.m. in the woods outside the gates of RAF Woodbridge, a U.S. base in eastern England. He wrote that patrolmen sent to investigate saw "a strange glowing object" in the forest.The metallic, triangular object "illuminated the entire forest with a white light," he wrote.The next day, investigators found depressions in the ground and unusual radiation readings. That night many personnel — including Halt himself — saw a pulsing "red sun-like light" in the trees that broke into five white objects and disappeared.The Ministry of Defense could offer no definitive explanation for what the Air Force officers had reported seeing, but also found no evidence of "any threat to the defense of the United Kingdom."Nothing had registered on radar, and "there was no evidence of anything having intruded into U.K. airspace and landed near RAF Woodbridge."A 1983 letter in the file proposes a possible explanation involving a combination of the nearby Orford Ness lighthouse, a fireball and bright stars.Case closed, as far as the ministry was concerned. But not everyone was convinced.A 1985 letter from Lord Hill-Norton, former head of Britain's armed forces, to then-Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine, complained that the "puzzling and disquieting" episode had never been explained properly.Hill-Norton said if the sighting was genuine, "British airspace and territory are vulnerable to unwarranted intrusion to a disturbing degree." The alternative explanation was that "a sizable number of USAF personnel at an important base in British territory are capable of serious misperception, the consequences of which might be grave in military terms."Britain's defense ministry has charted UFO sightings since the 1950s, when a Flying Saucer Working Party was established. More files are due to be released by the archives through 2010.Some of the newly released events came with easy explanations.In 1993 and 1994, the ministry received numerous reports of a "brightly illuminated oval object" over London. It turned out to be an airship advertising a new car.More mysterious was a UFO "attack" on a cemetery in Widnes, northwest England, in July 1996. A police report said a young man — "a sensible sort of lad and genuine" — reported seeing a UFO firing beams of light into the ground.A police officer sent to the scene found a smoldering railway sleeper. "It does look rather odd," reported the officer, whose name was blacked out in the document.The files include a little grist for conspiracy theorists.The head of the ministry's UFO desk wrote briefing notes in 1993 reporting a spate of sightings in southwest England and speculating whether they might be connected to Aurora, a secret U.S. spy plane whose existence has never been officially admitted.Atop one of his letters, someone scrawled: "Thank you. I suggest you now drop this subject."The files reveal a 1996 spike in UFO sightings: 609 that year, up from 117 the year before.David Clarke, a UFO historian and consultant to the National Archives, said it was probably no coincidence that the supernatural TV show "The X Files" was popular in Britain at the time, and that alien-invasion movie "Independence Day" came out the same year."It's evident there is some connection between newspaper stories, TV programs and films about alien visitors, and the numbers of UFO sightings," Clarke said."Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD (Ministry of Defense) over the past half century was 1978 — the year 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' was released."
UFO files: craft 'seen at Glastonbury music festival'A UFO was spotted over the jazz tent at music festival Glastonbury in 1994 by two people reportedly "standing soberly" in a field nearby. Published: 7:30AM BST 17 Aug 2009The woman said the lights on the "flying saucer" ? yellow, red and green ? spun round and round Photo: THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES A woman and a friend said the craft appeared from nowhere and seemed to "communicate" with them. In official documents released on Monday, the woman wrote they saw a "twirling set of moving lights attached to what must have been a circular object". "It was unlike anything we knew and so I immediately said it must be a UFO/spaceship," she said. "What made me feel this was the case was that the lights were below this circular object and flashing in a way that was communicating to us. "It was also silent and the way it glided was the smoothest and most effortless motion I had seen in the sky." The woman said the lights on the "flying saucer" – yellow, red and green – spun round and round. She said: "And it was as if once we had both agreed it must be a UFO that it swirled around and glided down straight towards us, as crazy as this sounds. "As this happened we really became quite frightened but awestruck. "Hair stood on the end of my arms and my heart was pounding. It then glided to the right and away again." Despite the remarkable appearance, none of the other revellers spotted it. But the woman's friend, a metaphysics student, told investigators the same story and the pair drew similar diagrams to illustrate the conundrum. He said: "It appeared to be coming towards us and quite suddenly it changed colours. It went from red and orange to yellow and green. "This really had an amazing impact on me because I was wearing yellow and green."
BRITAIN'S X FILES By Stephen Moyes 17/08/2009 MoD releases 800 UFO sightings Bizarre accounts of around 800 UFO sightings were released yesterday by the MoD.They included a tale of aliens with lemon-shaped heads who tried to abduct two schoolboys and a spaceship firing lasers at a graveyard.The reports have been released in a joint project by the MoD and the National Archives to open up their records to the public.Among them are more than 30 sightings of bright lights over central England in just six hours in March 1993 which were caused by a Russian rocket. The most dramatic case involved the two boys who saw a UFO hovering over a field in Chasetown, Staffs, in May 1995.They wrote a report saying a figure with a lemon-shaped head emerged and told them: "Come with us." The boys fled as the UFO, which gave off an intense heat, zoomed off.One boy later told police the UFO emitted a ray of light which sent his friend's face "the colour of beetroot".Another youngster, described as "a sensible lad" reported in July 1996 seeing a UFO hovering over a cemetery in Widnes, Cheshire, while firing laser beams into the ground.He told police and an officer who visited the spot found four railway sleepers smouldering. One had a 4in hole burned through it. The officer reported: "It does look rather odd."Many of the UFO reports were filed in 1996, the year the film Independence Day was released and TV series X-Files was a big hit.Ufo expert Dr David Clarke said: "Obviously films and TV programmes raise public awareness of UFOs and it's fascinating to see how that appears to lead more people to report what they see."
Saucer at Glasto17/08/2009 In 1994 two revellers at the Glastonbury music festival reckoned they saw a UFO over the jazz tent.They were "standing soberly" in a field when the flying saucer suddenly appeared and seemed to "communicate" with them.A woman said she saw a "twirling set of moving lights attached to what must have been a circular object... It was unlike anything we knew".Her male friend, a metaphysics student, told investigators the same story and drew similar diagrams of the craft. None of the other revellers spotted it.
'Lemonhead' alien tried to abduct two Brit schoolboys, say Govt. filesPublished on : Monday 17 Aug 2009 11:45 - by ANILondon, Aug 17 - ANI: A lemonhead alien tried to abduct two schoolboys in Britain, according to the Ministry of Defence files.The pair said that the extra-terrestrial creature wanted to allure them into a glowing red spaceship as they headed home from a night out.According to them, the alien said: "We want you, come with us." The details of the eerie incident in Chasetown, Staffs, in May 1995 are among the Ministry of Defence files released for the first time by National Archives.The files detailed about 800 UFO reports made to the MoD between 1981 and 1996. The officer's report says the boys arrived "agitated and distressed" after spotting a UFO, which emitted an intense heat before zigzagging off east to west.In 1994, a Dumfriesshire motorist claimed that he had seen a "Toblerone-shaped object" descending from the sky in Annandale.He drove to the field where he thought it had landed. As he approached the area, the man said his car packed up and the torch that he had taken stopped working.According to the official figures, there were 285 alleged UFO sightings reported to the MoD in 2008, which was double the number recorded in 2007. Nick Pope, who ran the British government's UFO project at the MoD in the early 1990s, believes that, while many sightings could be explained away, there were those for which no rational explanation could be given. "Our position at the MoD was, while not trying to cover it up, we had a policy of not talking these sightings up," the Scotsman quoted Pope as saying. "There were clearly a large number of UFO sightings in the area, but we felt that the public was creating a self-fulfilling prophesy, whereby any aircraft light seen above Bonnybridge was being reported."But, certainly, the reports were more interesting to us when they featured large black triangular aircraft. That was a description that we had from many people around the country," he added.Summer music festival Glastonbury has also made headlines for UFO sightings.In another 1994 incident, two revellers revealed they saw a UFO over the jazz tent.A woman and a friend were "standing soberly" in a field saw a "twirling set of moving lights attached to what must have been a circular object.""It was unlike anything we knew and so I immediately said it must be a UFO/spaceship," she said. "The lights were below this circular object and flashing in a way that was communicating to us," she added.However, there have been speculations that the 'spacecraft' may have been secret US spy plane, the existence of which has never been officially admitted, according to newly released files. - ANI
Suffolk's UFO mysteries revealedTOM POTTERLast updated: 17/08/2009 06:00:00IT'S regarded by those with a penchant for the paranormal to be one of the most significant UFO sightings of modern times.The Rendlesham Forest incident, or “Britain's Roswell,” as it has come to be known, has kept people guessing about the existence of little green men for nearly 30 years.For the second time this year, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed previously classified files on sightings in the UK reported between 1981 and 1996.In March we heard about boomerang-shaped objects seen from airport control towers and a woman's encounter with a Scandinavian-sounding “alien” in Norfolk.Now, a new set of files may shed light on Britain's Roswell, as well as some other bizarre encounters.The release is part of a three-year project between the MoD and The National Archives, aimed at opening up records to a worldwide audience.The Rendlesham file reveals previously unseen letters between the MoD and members of the public and includes a memo from Lt Col Charles Halt (USAF deputy base commander), who was present during one of the sightings in December 1980.File DEFE 24/1948 exposes more evidence surrounding Britain's best-known UFO incident, involving several sightings of lights in the forest outside the perimeter fence of RAF Woodbridge.USAF personnel claimed a UFO had landed in the forest, leaving traces including markings on the ground and radiation. The file also contains the MoD's final statement on the Rendlesham incident in a briefing for the House of Lords Defence Debate, along with a letter from a Chief of Defence Staff to Michael Heseltine, then Secretary of State for Defence, in which the incident was described as “a potential banana-skin” looming for the MoD.Lord Hill-Norton, a member of what he described as the ``rather ineffective' House of Lords UFO Group, wrote to Mr Heseltine in May 1985 to express his concern over the ``puzzling and disquieting features' of the case.Lt Col Halt wrote: “The individuals reported seeing a strange glowing object in the forest. The object was described as being metallic in appearance and triangular in shape, approximately two to three metres across the base and approximately two metres high. “It illuminated the entire forest with a white light. The object itself had a pulsing red light on top and a bank of blue lights underneath. The object was hovering or on legs. As the patrolmen approached the object, it manoeuvred through the trees and disappeared.”The commander himself described witnessing three depressions in the ground the next day where the object had been sighted.And later that night he was among several men who saw a “red sun-like light” through the trees which “moved about and pulsed.”He said: “At one point it appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared.”Lord Hill-Norton said if Lt Col Halt's report was accurate “there is evidence that British airspace and territory are vulnerable to unwarranted intrusion to a disturbing degree.”He added that if the report was to be dismissed “then we have evidence - no less disturbing, I suggest - that a sizeable number of USAF personnel at an important base in British territory are capable of serious misperception, the consequence of which might be grave in military terms.”A note on the MoD's final position on the incident, says the USAF report was “carefully examined” and the conclusion was that there was “no Defence interest” and “no evidence of anything having intruded into British airspace.”The latest instalment of files is available to download for free for a month from The National Archives dedicated website www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos. Have you spotted anything mysterious in the night sky? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.More revelations from the MoD files released today:Two men returning home from an evening out in Staffordshire were confronted by a lemon-headed alien who appeared from under a hovering UFO.More than 30 sightings of bright lights were reported over central England in the space of just six hours in March 1993 - it was later discovered that most of the sightings were caused by a Russian rocket re-entering the earth's atmosphere.The Belgian Air Force scrambled F-16 fighters to intercept UFOs reported by police officers and members of the public in March 1990 - the jets obtained 'lock-ons' with their radars, but could not explain what caused the phenomena.A young man returning home near Widnes ran off after seeing a UFO over a cemetery in July, 1996. He reported beams of light projecting onto the ground, a wailing noise and smoke rising from the ground. Investigators discovered four smouldering railway sleepers at the scene - one with a hole burnt through it and still smouldering.Dozens of sightings of a brightly illuminated oval object were reported over London in 1993 - the lights were actually caused by a Virgin airship.The last few months have seen a rash of UFO sightings in Suffolk - a county renowned for paranormal goings on:Last week an Ipswich pensioner reported seeing a UFO hovering above the Woodbridge Road area of the town several times in the space of around six weeks ago. Frank Pearsons, 89, of Bolton Lane, was adamant the orange-coloured disc was out of this world.“I don't think British technology could produce anything like that,” he said. “Somebody suggested to me it could be a satellite but it would not behave in that way and it wouldn't be the bright orange colour.”In July an Ipswich couple had a close encounter when they spotted a mystifying orange light in the sky above their Frobisher Road home. Cathy Calthorpe was putting her children to bed when her partner Chris Betts screamed for her to join him at the window.She rushed to his side and saw a perfect formation of a geometric shape with five bright orange lights.Psychic healers Tom and Carol Spencer claimed to have seen 30 bright orange UFOs in convoy above Thetford. Gary Clark, of Fisk Farm, near Badingham, said he and wife Beverley saw a “tremendous ball of fire” flying above the sea at Sizewell beach.Evening Star photographer Simon Parker was driving home through Lower Hacheston when he also saw a “big ball of fiery orange light in the sky”.David Galvan, of High Street, Wickham Market, was checking the garden for hedgehogs when he saw a large red light moving across the sky.