CL O S E E NCOU NTER S OF A KIND
KNOWN as Britain’s Roswell, the Rendlesham Forest Incident is our most famous UFO event. In December 1980, there were a series of reports of unexplained lights near Suffolk’s Rendlesham Forest, which was next to an RAF base used by the US Air Force. Personnel from the USAF have since said they believed these to be UFOS.
In August 1992, Scotsmen Garry Wood and Colin Wright were driving on the A70 when they claimed to have been kidnapped by 6ft aliens with grey skin who examined them before leaving them back on the road. Documents released by the Ministry of Defence in 2012 revealed they’d taken it so seriously they investigated and filed an official report. During the 1960s and 70s, there were several reports at Clapham Wood in West Sussex of UFO sightings and unexplained events, such as people suddenly being struck with nausea, having sensations of being pushed and followed, and seeing grey mist appear from nowhere. Staffordshire’s Cannock Chase has long been a hotbed of unusual sightings, from black- eyed ghost children to “pig- men” and unexplained lights. In 2015, hundreds said they heard strange noises and saw a UFO hovering there. Around 300 sightings are reported in the sky over the small Scottish town of Bonnybridge near Falkirk every year. One blogger in the area has even claimed there is an alien base underneath the town, while Bonnybridge councillor Billy Buchanan reckons half of the population has met or seen aliens.
In 2009, Kids In America singer Kim Wilde, right, reported seeing a “huge bright light behind a cloud” above her garden in Hertfordshire. Her claims were backed up by another resident, who obtained photographic evidence. Decky Hill in West Lothian was at the centre of a mystery in November 1979. Forestry worker Robert Taylor saw an object hovering above the woodland floor, and said he lost consciousness, waking up covered in bruises.
In 1977, in Broad Haven, Pembrokes, an entire class of schoolchildren claimed to have seen a cigar- shaped craft. A hotel worker came forward to say he’d seen the same thing. In the 43 years since the sightings, nobody has debunked it as a hoax. Three years ago, several people living in the West Midlands reported seeing a triangleshaped, silent object in the sky over Dudley. The UFO was later dubbed the “Dudley Dorito”.
Albert Lancaster, working as a guardsman in Newbiggin- by- theSea, Northumberland, claimed he was abducted by aliens. The 1942 event saw Arthur drawn to a “glowing light” in the sky and develop psychic abilities.