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Search forWeird lights in the sky set pulses racing
Tuesday, July 29, 2008, 10:53
The curious heavenly light show was spotted by Wayne and Jo Taylor as they enjoyed a smoke outside their home in Barnsey Gardens, Ashburton.
Wayne, 40, said: “I just couldn't believe it. I've never seen anything like it in my life before.”
A neighbour told him: “I'm glad you saw them too because I don't want people thinking I'm mad.”
He counted about a dozen, slow-moving circular lights in formation heading towards Dartmoor at 10.20pm.
At the same time star-gazers across the country were being similarly gobsmacked by the apparitions with 200 seen at various points between the South West and Yorkshire.
A spokesman for UFO Investigations UK immediately called for a Government inquiry to explain the deluge of reports from Sussex and Bedfordshire and from Devon to Lancashire and beyond.
“The whole of Ashburton is now talking about it,” said Wayne, who captured mobile phone pictures of the happening high above his home.
“I have absolutely no rational explanation for what I saw. The lights moved at one stage at a 90 degree angle.
“They were not these lanterns that people keep reporting. There was no way of telling how far or close they were. It's very difficult to explain them. They were quite random.”
The spokesman for UFO Investigations UK confirmed that more than 200 people had reported sightings across the UK. Normally the organisation receives 10 to 15 sightings a day.
Just 24 hours later John Farley, a retired bus driver from Kingskerswell, was snapping away at Berry Head in Brixham with a view to increasing his photo portfolio for local competitions.
Glancing through his images on the computer at home, he spotted one which stood out from the crowd because, taking centre stage, was a UFO.
His panorama of the Bay bathed in glorious summer sunshine had a blot on the seascape which had him perplexed.
“I don't know what it is,” he said, scratching his head.
Close scrutiny by the Herald Express picture desk could not help him with his inquiries.
One expert said: “The picture was taken at a thousandth of a second at f4 which would normally make any moving object pin-sharp.
“The fact that John's object is blurred is a bit baffling. I'm afraid we can't identify what's there except to say it's moving pretty damn quickly.”
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