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EXTRAORDINARY UK UFO SIGHTING

From the Eastern Evening News, Oct 6, 1996 (UK)

Exclusive by Andy Rivett-Carnac and Andrew Stronach

MYSTERIOUS bright lights in the sky were today being investigated by the Ministry of Defence to see if they posed a threat to national security.

The MoD said it was taking seriously several sightings of two large unexplained objects hovering in the skies above the Wash.

Mystified personnel at RAF Neatishead, near Wroxham, spent hours tracking the lights of the UFOs, sighted over Boston (UK) on Saturday.

And coast guards at Great Yarmouth was kept busy co-ordinating reports from police, shipping, and RAF.

Nigel Sergeant, spokesman for the MoD, said today : "We don't know what they are. We are investigating to see weather they are a threat to our security."

Skegness police called the coast guard 3.14am on Saturday after seeing a number of objects flashing in the sky, they later took video footage of UFOs.

Boston police also reported a light in the sky.

Flt Lt Keith Sweatman, of RAF Neatishead said: "The number of independent reports we have had suggest there is something to follow up. "We will be investigating the matter thoroughly and we are already collating all the information we have."

Sightings later came to from a tanker and a civilian aircraft and two military radar stations verified "strange" traces.

The UFOs were described by witnesses as large, a mile up in the sky, and with blue, white, red and green flashing lights.

Military officials said late on Saturday morning that no airforce planes had been scrambled to investigate as the object were not seen as a threat.

But a military jet was seen heading up the Norfolk coast towards the area at 9am on Saturday.

Coast guards in Great Yarmouth co-ordinated the whole exercise spanning Scotland and the east coast of England to track the unexplained lights. The Evening News has obtained a transcript of a conversation between coast guard, RAF stations in Norfolk, Scotland and London, police and North Sea tanker Conocoast about the unexplained lights. This is the recording taken at Yarmouth coast guard HQ:

0314 Skegness police: "We can see a strange red and green rotating light in the sky directly south-east from Skegness. it looks strange as it is stationary and there is no sound in the area."

0326 RAF Kinloss: "Northwood have a radar contact bearing 221 degrees at 16 miles. it looks to be stationary be stationary and there is no way of determining its height but it must be quite a size to be visible from Skegness."

0331 Kinloss: "Neatishead now confirm a couple radar contact in the area but no height. They seem to be stationary. There are definitely no military aircraft in the area and no notified civil flights should be there.

0346 Conocoast tanker: "We have these lights on visual, now they are flashing red, green and white. Cannot identify it as an aircraft as it looks stationary and it is approximately one mile high."

Yarmouth coast guard: "Did you see which direction it appeared?"

Conocoast: "No, it just appeared and is stationary."

0353 Kinloss: "Neatishead say it could be caused by the weather."

coast guard: "I don't think so as we have visual contact."

Kinloss: "Well, Neatishead and Northwood report that there is no transponder on this object and therefore no means of interrogation. it is obvious that whatever it is it does not want anyone to know that it is there. Also Neatishead report its position as directly over Boston."

0408 Conocoast: "It is still stationary and flashing red, green, blue and white. it looks very high, north of us, and there is no engine noise."

0417 coast guard: "Skegness, can you get video footage as the RAF are very interested and may require it later."

0427 Kinloss: "Neatishead are keeping a log of what looks like clutter on the radar."

0445 Yarmouth coast guard: "Conocoast, can you give us an update?"

Conocoast: "We can see two lights flashing green and red."

0501 coast guard: "Give us both bearings of the two lights."

Conocoast: "There is one stationary light at 345 deg true and the other at 160 true. The lights are both visible with the naked eye and both exhibit the same characteristics flashing red, blue, green and white."

0517 Boston police: "We can still see the light. It is towards the south-east and seems about 40-45 degrees up in the sky it is just a bright light to us."

0521 Kinloss: "Neatishead are running a trace on this and cannot explain it. If they are helicopters they are fast approaching the end of their endurance as it is well over two hours since the first report let alone how long they were up there before they were actually sighted."

0552 Conocoast: "We can still see the lights and they are on their original bearing and flashing the same colours but they seem higher and dimmer."

0708 Flt Lt McFarlane, Neatishead: "We had a report from Northwood that a civil flight had also reported strange lights in the area. They fit exactly what was seen from the ground, multi-coloured, flashing, stationary lights."

0731 Flt Lt George, Northwood: "This echo is still on our screens and we cannot explain this at all apart from it being a meteorological phenomenon but then again we have visual sightings also as well. The civilian flight that reported these lights as a flare was six miles away at the time. All very strange."

1109 Neatishead: "The object has not moved. London radar and Waddington can also see it."

1920 Anglia radar: "There is nothing there now. We are of the opinion that it was Boston Stump."

Anglia TV later alleged that the strange lights were from a church steeple.

Thanks to Ian Reed, Director of NUFOS (National UFO Society UK)