Summer 1975/76 - Blackridge, Scotland - Lit Bell UFO Sighting

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report

Author: Dave Hodrien

Forwarded by Richard Hall

Release Date: 28/05/2011

Last Updated: 05/11/2024

This report covers a stunning sighting of a very unusual object which was seen making highly unusual manoeuvres in the area of Blackridge in Scotland. There are numerous aspects to the case which are very interesting indeed.

Sighting Details

One night in the summer of 1975 or 76, Tom Collins got up to use the bathroom in his upper floor flat on Langside Drive, Bathgate. It was between 3-4am. He decided to take a look out of the bathroom window to see what type of a night it was. The bathroom had a small frosted window which he pushed open. It was a warm, clear and still night with good visibility. The sun had not yet started to come up.

Aerial map of Langside Drive:

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It was now that he noticed a very strange object in the distance. About 3 miles from his flat to the West was Hillend Loch. The object was situated a little closer to his position than the Eastern end of the loch. It was about 50-100 feet in the air. It was a rounded bell shape, taller than it was wide. On the base of the object appeared to be many multi-coloured. These were in two bands, one rotating in a clockwise direction and one rotating anti-clockwise. It was hard to tell the colour of the object due to the distance and the glow from the lights. It appeared to be about the size of a bus.

Witness drawing of the UFO:

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At first the object appeared to be stationary. Then suddenly it moved almost instantaneously in a Southerly direction by about 1000 feet. It was now much closer to a TV mast on Dews hill, to the South East of his location.

Aerial map showing the location of the TV mast:

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Photograph of the mast, which still exists today:

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It remained there for several minutes then suddenly moved back to its original position near the loch. This movement was so fast it almost looked like it had teleported from one location to the other. He continued to watch the unusual object. It continued to make this same manoeuvre. Sometimes it would also move up or down, but would always stop for a time before suddenly shifting. Tom got the impression that it was interacting in some way with the mast.

Map by the witness giving an overview of the sighting:

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Aerial map showing the location of the witness (A), the TV mast (B) and the original position of the UFO (C):

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Tom was absolutely fascinated by what was taking place, and continued to watch the object for up to an hour. He did not have a car so could not drive out closer to where the UFO was situated. Neither did he have a camera at the time, otherwise he would have tried to capture it on film. At some point he did wake his wife up to also see the UFO but she says she cannot remember this anymore after such a long time.

In the end Tom decided to go back to sleep as he had to wake up in the morning. He has no idea of when the UFO finally left the area. This sighting changed his views on the UFO subject forever, and ever since he has believed in them.

Sighting Analysis

This is a fascinating sighting and one which appears to be of a genuine advanced craft. Its appearance does not fit in with it being a helicopter or other conventional object. The shape is unusual, and I have not investigated many other sightings similar to it. It is unlikely to have been a remote controlled model or electronically lit inflatable. It seems too large to have been a model, and if it was a hoax of some kind surely the owner would want to fly it round the area, possibly at a time when more people would witness it, rather than just move it back and forth next to a TV mast for ages? Also the incredibly fast erratic manoeuvres which the object was seen to perform were of course much too fast for it to have been something mundane.

The movements the object was making seem to designate intelligence, and suggest that it was interacting with the TV mast in some way. Perhaps it was draining energy off it, as has been reported before in other sightings. It is unlikely that a secret military flown craft would do this, they would have no real reason to do this. Therefore I feel that it was probably ET in origin.

It is a shame that the witness did not own a camera, especially considering how long it was in the area for. The length of the sighting is impressive and makes me wonder if other people also saw the UFO, although considering the time of morning the sighting occurred perhaps Tom was the only witness. If you have any further information about this incident please get in touch.

Copyright Dave Hodrien 2024