Woolacombe / Wheddon Cross Contact Case – Beings, White Orbs, Military Intercept

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report

Author: Dave Hodrien

Release Year: 2022

Last Updated: 22/07/2026

In mid-October 2022 I was contacted by a delivery van driver named Gregory regarding a number of days of UFO activity he had witnessed earlier in the month. Unfortunately, he did not respond to my additional questions so only the initial provided details are known at present.

Night One

At 7pm on 11^th October 2022 Gregory was parked in his van near Wollacombe. It was a clear and dry evening. Due to the time of year the sun had fully set and the full moon was visible. Suddenly out of the front windscreen he watched a bright white orb of light rapidly descend in the sky, instantly stop, pulse several times and then disappear.

Aerial map of Woolacombe

Shortly after the sighting, he heard a noise coming from the top of the van that sounded like someone rhythmically tapping on it with their nails. He nudged the van door and the noise immediately ceased.

About 10 minutes later it started again. This time he plucked up enough courage to exit the van and have a look on the roof. When he did so he found nothing there. He got back in the van, but left the door unlocked and positioned himself so he could easily jump out if it started a third time.

As expected after a short time it did. He leapt out of the van fully expecting to see something, but again there was nothing. However, he then noticed the heads and shoulders of two figures in the field he was parked in. The figures began walking around the field in a circle around the van.

Gregory was frightened that they were criminals who were planning to rob parts of his van. He remained awake and vigilant, not daring to drive away or drop off to sleep. The figures remained present until the morning light, approximately 12 hours later! Eventually they departed and were no longer visible.

Night Two

After what had taken place Gregory decided to move on from that location. He took the A39 down through Porlock Hill. He then found a quiet spot close to Wheddon Cross near Minehead.

Aerial map of Wheddon Cross

As he made a cup of tea for himself he thought back to what had happened the previous evening. He felt that because of the bright orb he had seen and the length of time the figures had remained for afterwards they had potentially not been human.

Sitting outside the van a while he spoke with several dog walkers. In the early evening he was once again sitting in the driver’s seat of the van. It was around 7pm again. Suddenly what appeared to be the same bright white orb appeared in the sky!

This time he didn't feel as scared as I he had the previous evening. He thought that if something bad was going to happen it would have already. He got his lighter out which has a blue-coloured torch light on it. He held it up and started making quick flashes of light. Gregory claims that every time he flashed it the orb flashed back in response!  

He then began to notice other white orbs in other positions at a higher altitude. The initial orb appeared to be flashing at these too, as well as changing direction and moving towards them. It was as if they were communicating with one another.

Gregory started trying to communicate telepathically with the main orb. He started asking questions like “What do you want?” and “How do I know you are real?” He also asked them to do certain manoeuvres and they apparently did everything he asked.

He asked how they were not spotted just openly sat in the sky, and asked if it was camouflage and they could reveal any little part of their ship without full disclosure. Next he asked the beings in control of the white orb to come down and say hello.

He then noticed a small white orb of light emerge from out of some nearby bushes. In his mind he asked whether it was them and felt that he got the answer “Yes” in his mind. As the small orb began to approach the van he got frightened and put the light on. The small orb instantly vanished.

Gregory asked telepathically if the lights were a problem. Suddenly what appeared to be a figure emerged from the hedgerow in front of him. The body movement looked really odd. In his mind he started to ask “Are you ok fella? Are you ok over there?” The figure continued to walk slowly towards the van. Just like before he began to get frightened and turned the lights on again. Instead of just vanish like the orb had done, the figure disappeared but reappeared further down the hedge row.

Next two jets came thundering across the sky towards the glowing orbs. Initially none of the objects moved at all. The jets seemed to circle the vicinity, then began to fly directly towards the higher altitude orbs. As they did the orbs moved away from them.

The jets began to chase the higher altitude orbs around the sky. They were joined by at least 10 more jets, which started flying around after the orbs in pairs. The main initial orb remained stationary occasionally flashing in brightness.

Analysis of Incidents

These are a series of interesting incidents which may or may not be connected. The initial white orb which Gregory saw on the first evening seems to have performed some advanced manoeuvres, suggesting it was not a drifting white coloured LED balloon. It seemed to descend too rapidly to be a distant helicopter. It is possible it was a drone with white lights on, however there would be no reason for these lights to have flashed and then switched off.

The short time between the orb disappearing and the beginning of the tapping noises does sound un-nerving, however there is nothing really linking the two incidents. There is no evidence that the orb was a craft which had then landed, or that the tapping sounds were a being on the roof of the van. The fact that Gregory leapt out of the van and checked twice yet found nothing confirms this. It is far more probable that the tapping noises were either the metal chassis of the van warping due to temperature changes, or perhaps small objects such as seeds from a nearby tree hitting the roof.

The two figures seen circling the van is a particularly bizarre aspect of this case. It is unknown why Gregory did not simply drive the van away from the area. If the figures were human, it is extremely odd that they would remain there for such an extensive period of time. If they were there to rob the van, or just wanted to mess with Gregory and frighten him, surely after a while they would have just given up? If they were instead alien beings of some kind, why would they have circled the van for many hours without ever approaching?

The following evening Gregory saw numerous white orbs in the sky. Even though the initial orb seen could have been the same object from the previous night returning, there is no definite evidence of this. It did not perform any manoeuvres, it just hovered still in the sky and appeared to make sudden flashes in brightness.

Perhaps it was nothing more than a bright twinkling star, although the flashes it was making sound more prominent than this. The fact that the flashes appeared to sometimes be timed with the witness's attempts to communicate with it is interesting, but could potentially be coincidental.

The other orbs at higher altitude were clearly not stars, as they began moving once the many military jets turned up and started flying around after them. If this is indeed what Gregory witnessed then there is a possibility they were something advanced and potentially non-human in origin.

Unfortunately, without more accurate locations and times I will not be able to raise a Freedom Of Information Request with the MOD to see if I can find out any information regarding any military activity which took place in the vicinity on the night in question.

Copyright Dave Hodrien 2026