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Birmingham UFO Group Report Rachel lives in Brighton and over the years has had some very interesting experiences. I met her at the International Irish UFO conference where I lectured in October 2009, and she let me know it would be fine to investigate and write up a report on these experiences. These will each be covered in separate sections. July 1967 Father’s UFO Incident Back in 1967 when Rachel was 14, she lived with her father Frank on Pier Avenue, Herne Bay, Kent. Frank had served in the Second World War and took early retirement at 53. They had a pet dog at the time named Painter. Her father was a very fit man and every evening liked to take Painter out for a long walk across Herne Bay golf course near to where they lived. He would usually set off around 6.00 pm and not come back till 7.30-8.00pm. The route to the golf course would take him past the nearby railyway station, via a tunnel under the tracks. One evening towards the end of July he set out on an evening walk much like usual. Rachel remembers the weather was good and there was a clear blue sky. Map showing location of Pier Avenue and Herne Bay Golf Course: 📷 Her father and the dog had been gone about half an hour, when suddenly he returned home. He let himself in and when Rachel saw him she was shocked by how both he and the dog looked. He was red faced and sweating, his eyes were bulging and his hair was messy. The dog was panting and looked to be completely out of breath with its tongue hanging right out. He walked past her and went into the lounge and collapsed into the armchair. The dog went to the middle of the lounge and collapsed on its side on the floor. Rachel asked her father what had happened and he said to her “I’ve just seen a UFO over the golf course but I’ve forgotten about it”. Rachel quizzed him about the statement but couldn’t get any more information out of him. Soon afterwards he took himself up to bed, despite the fact it was still early evening. Herne Bay Golf Course: 📷 Frank would regularly get up at 6am but the following morning he was late getting up. When he finally did come downstairs, Rachel asked him why he was up so late. He turned away from her and lifted his top up. Across one side of his back was a red blistered rash. When she asked him about it she found he could not remember going out to the golf course at all, and had no recollection of anything that had happened the previous evening. Soon afterwards, Frank went to the doctor’s. Rachel does not remember what her father told her when he returned, but assumes that the doctor could not identify the cause. Several days later, Rachel remembers reading an article in the local newspaper that said that many people had contacted the police and said that they saw a large silver coloured cigar-shaped object hovering over Herne Bay Golf Course on the same evening as the incident had taken place. When she showed her father the article he just said it was a load of rubbish. Rachel wishes she had kept this article at the time. Years later when she had more of an interest in the subject of UFOs, she attempted to find the article but was not able to track it down. Since the incident till the end of his life, Frank would never entertain the notion that he had been in close proximity with a UFO and put the rash down to natural causes. However, despite not having an interest in the subject at all, her father would occasionally come out with unusual questions about the universe and whether other races existed elsewhere. He only did this after the incident, never before. Also for the rest of his life, he was highly emotional and would get angry very easily. This shift in his personality seemed to be directly related to what had taken place. July 2005 UFO Sighting In 2005 Rachel was now living in her flat on John Street, Brighton. The flat is on the side of a hill and from it she has a great view over the valley in which Brighton has been built up. In recent years she has had health issues with her joints, which often cause her a lot of pain. One Wednesday evening in July she was in agony so decided to go to bed at 9pm to sleep it off. Map showing location of John Street: 📷 She awoke at 11.45pm and went to get a drink. She decided to open the living room window. When she looked out of the window she was greet ed by an amazing sight. She saw what looked like a large orange sphere in the sky to the North West. It had a small black circle in the middle of it and was glowing, but not brightly. Rachel estimates it was at least 50 feet across, and from her viewpoint looked as big as the sun does. The object was about 1000 feet high and below the cloud layer. It was moving on a direct course in a South Easterly direction, not extremely fast, but fast enough to appear powered. Drawing of the object based on witness description: 📷 As she watched the object suddenly came to a halt. After several seconds it then moved to the right a short distance. It then moved back to it’s original position and remained still again. A few seconds later it continued moving on it’s original course. Rachel briefly lost sight of it behind another block of flats and then it reappeared from the other side, proving that it was far away from her and not a small object in close proximity. She continued to watch, captivated by the object. Suddenly it changed course and moved straight upwards, a bit faster than it had been moving beforehand. It was soon lost in the cloud and Rachel did not see the object again. Rachel felt that the object had appeared to be looking for something. Looking back at the incident she feels it was an unusual craft of some kind, perhaps inter-dimensional, and definitely under intelligent control. A very unusual aspect of the sighting is that when she thinks back to it she sees it in daylight, but it was 11.45pm at night so the sky must really have been dark. Does this perhaps suggest that there was bright light coming from the object at the time? Or could it be that she was so transfixed on the object she did not notice the surroundings? There have been a number of other UFO and crop formation sightings where this same thing has been reported. The apparent size of the object, and the interesting movement patterns seen, certainly tend to dismiss the possibility the object was a balloon, inflatable or Chinese lantern. Rachel is well aware of what Chinese lanterns look like after dark. Obviously it could not have been a meteorite and it seems unlikely an Earth Light would be the cause as these do not tend to appear over urban areas. It is also unlikely it was some sort of secret military craft due to its appearance - and why would they fly it right over Brighton in direct view of everyone? This seems to be a genuine sighting of a highly unusual and controlled object. Orange Orb Sightings In recent years, Chinese lanterns have become very popular in Brighton and are often seen being launched on the sea front. Rachel is sure that some of the UFO sightings reported in the area have been down to these. However on four different occasions while out walking, she has seen orange orbs of light appear a couple of miles out to sea. These orbs have also seemed to appear from nowhere about 500 feet up in the sky rather than right down at sea level. They then move upward, moving around each other, until they fade and are lost from sight. On one particular occasion, they appeared to be moving in a South Easterly direction even though the wind was blowing to the South West at the time. Brighton sea front: 📷 It is most likely that these are Chinese lanterns, perhaps being launched from party cruise boats. They may drift towards the coast and when first launched are too far away to be visible but then seem to suddenly appear. This is just a theory, but it seems a good possibility given the appearance of the orbs, their movement patterns and the popularity of lanterns in the area. The ones which appeared to be heading in a different direction to the wind could have been caught in a different air current further out to sea, due to the distance that they were being viewed from this cannot be ruled out. Local newspapers and the airport have commented on the orange orbs numerous times, and although many of the sightings reported are probably caused by lanterns, there are certainly other UFO sightings around Brighton which remain unexplained. Conclusion As you can see, Rachel has had some fascinating experiences, both directly and indirectly through her father. She is sincere about these incidents and they have certainly contributed towards her beliefs in the UFO phenomenon. After speaking with Rachel numerous times I have no doubt she is telling me the truth about her experiences. She has said she will keep in touch and keep me informed of any other unusual events which take place. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 10/10/2009 Witnesses Colin & Ruth have been lucky enough to experience several UFO incidents since July 2008 to October 2009. This report will cover each of these sightings in detail in seperate sections. 26TH JULY 2008 SIGHTING It is impressive enough when a witness reports seeing a single UFO. But when many UFOs are seen by multiple witnesses from different parts of the UK on the same night, we should definitely sit up and take notice. The fleets of glowing orange UFOs seen on the evening of Saturday 26th July 2008 were reported by numerous individuals and appeared in newspapers around the UK. This report will concentrate mostly on what the witnesses Colin and Ruth from Northampton experienced, however it also features details on other related sightings and newspaper articles. Sighting Details It was around 10pm at night. Ruth was in the back garden of their house on Whiteland Road, relaxing on the patio. It was a clear evening with patchy cloud but completely still and silent. The sun was starting to set but there was still light in the sky. Colin arrived home and went about putting his motorbike away. Ruth was staring at the sky when suddenly she noticed what looked like a very bright orange orb of light coming from the South West. It seemed to be travelling quite fast and was on a straight path in a North Easterly direction. The light had an irregular pulse to it, occasionally dimming before becoming brighter again. She called Colin who came out to join her on the patio. As the glowing orb got closer they could start to make out details of the object behind the light, and as it started to move away the light seemed to dim and they could make out what looked like a black arrow-head shaped craft, although the exact shape of the tail end was hard to distinguish. The orange glow came from a central light in the middle of the underside of the object. At no point did they hear any sound from it. It continued to travel in the same direction and velocity until it was out of sight. The witnesses estimate it was visible in the sky for about 40 seconds, so must have been travelling at quite a speed. They believe the object was about the same size as a military jet and was less than a thousand foot up, flying below the clouds. About five minutes later another similar object appeared in the distance and once more flew North East on the same path. From then on the objects started to appear roughly every couple of minutes. Some were grouped, some individual. They each travelled in the same straight path. The lights on some of them dimmed as they approached, others stayed bright and could still be visible lighting up the far horizon in a dull red glow. However the seventh object suddenly began to change its course and curved off away from where the other objects were travelling. It looked like it was over the area of the Pitsford Reservoir. The orange light on it was still glowing brightly obscuring its shape. It slowed down and came to a halt. Suddenly what looked like bright sparks shot out of the top of it, and then it dropped straight downward to the ground! After this more objects continued to appear but did not veer off their path. Colin had his mobile phone on him but decided not to take any photographs as he believed they would not come out clearly enough. They called Ruth’s son out, who also saw at least one of the objects before heading back into the house. The final object that the witnesses saw moved on a different path to the majority of the others, and instead came right over their house. Colin felt like it was aware it was being watched and had come over to check them out. As it passed overhead its shape was hidden by the brightness of the orange pulsating light emanating from it. The witnesses watched the objects for around 20-25 minutes in total. Photograph of sighting location facing the direction the UFOs came from: 📷 Location map showing witness location, paths of the objects and estimated location for the one which descended to the ground: 📷 After the sighting was over, Colin first wrote down details of what they had seen. He then decided to ring Northampton police. Both he and Ruth were concerned because of the one object which appeared to have crash landed. The lady who he spoke to confirmed that other witnesses in the local area had reported the same objects and that officers had already been sent out to investigate. She then put him on hold a minute. When she came back on the line she started to ask him really detailed questions about the objects they had seen, including what shape the craft were, the lighting configurations on them and direction they were heading in. Colin found this to be a little unusual. The next morning they decided to contact the Northampton Chronicle & Echo newspaper to report their sighting. They were informed by the paper that other people had also contacted them about the objects, and were asked to send details in an E-Mail. Later they discovered that there had been numerous other sightings in different parts of the UK on the same night including the South coast and up in Scotland. Also orange lights in the sky had been seen on previous dates around the area of Northampton. A couple of weeks later Colin was speaking to his barber who lives in Brixworth, close to the Pitsford Reservoir. He informed Colin that numerous roads in the area were mysteriously closed off just on that particular night, with no explanation given. Did the officers find the object which had fallen to the ground, and had some sort of clean up operation taken place? Witness Drawings What the objects looked like on approach once the light had dimmed enough to make out the actual shape: 📷 An estimation of the shape of the objects: 📷 The explosion of the object which veered off course: 📷 Newspaper Articles Below is the Chronicle & Echo newspaper article which was released a couple of days after the witnesses sighting. It mentions numerous other witnesses to the same UFOs: Mystery lights spotted in sky Published Date: 29 July 2008 Mystery surrounds the identity of 10 orange lights seen in the sky above Northampton on Saturday night. A number of people called Northamptonshire Police after watching the strange lights, which reportedly moved across the sky, with one of the lights then exploding. Alun Bye, from Spinney Hill, Northampton, said: "They appeared to rise from Kingsthorpe and go towards Milton Keynes at about 10pm. "At first they looked like stars but got bigger. I thought they could have been balloons, but they had no baskets and were noiseless." Mr Bye attributed the lights he saw to night flights at the model helicopter convention held at the University of Northampton at the weekend. Organiser Jeff Barringer said helicopter flights had stopped at 9.20pm although he added the lights could be "linked" to the convention. Other sightings were also made in Spinney Hill and in The Headlands area of Northampton, with eyewitnesses describing the lights as being present until about 10.30pm. Colin Bicknell said: "These craft were very bright balls of pulsing orange light. They had no other lights at all. These craft were totally silent and the one that exploded made no sound either." Headlands resident Mark Edwards said he noticed the light "quite high up" with no noise coming from it. He added: "It moved quite quickly to the south then disappeared behind clouds. Then about two minutes later another one appeared and did exactly the same, this was followed by one more straight after." Janet Stawarz, from Spinney Hill, described seeing 12 lights in the sky, which she said "seemed to be on the same pathway, like they were just following one another". Bob Pinckard, also from The Headlands, said he was left "completely confused" after spotting the lights. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said: "The MOD examines reports solely to establish whether United Kingdom airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity. Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported." The Chron was also contacted by people living across the UK who spotted similar lights on Saturday, following previous articles about unidentified lights in the sky. Reports came in from East Yorkshire and Scotland. The next article is from the same newspaper from a fortnight before, and seems to describe similar or the same objects over Northampton: Bright orange lights in sky evidence of UFOs? Published Date: 15 July 2008 Panicked residents of Northampton say they are now believers in UFOs after capturing eerie soundless lights in the sky on video. Heidi Spencer and her partner spotted a cluster of bright lights from their flat in Abington while watching TV on Saturday night. They stood up to investigate only to see one break off and scoot soundlessly across the sky and disappear. Mrs Spencer said: "They were bright orange and moved quite steadily from the north west and went off to the south. We lost sight of them in the clouds. When I looked back the other one had gone. We managed to get a video of it on my phone but I was pretty freaked out all night." Mrs Spencer was not the only one who spotted the unexplained lights above the town. Elaine Byrne, of Park Avenue North, Abington and her 18-year-old daughter also saw some of the lights from their bathroom window at about midnight. She said: "I saw a brilliant orange light in the sky. It was not far at all from us. "I shouted to my daughter so she could witness it and we watched it before it went over us. I went to the other window to follow it then my daughter shouted to me that another one was there. It was strange." Other readers as far away as Earls Barton also saw the lights on Saturday but no one has yet offered a feasible explanation. However, worried Northamptonians may be comforted by the fact that the Ministry of Defence, which collects data on sightings, said no reports of a UFO had been recorded and deemed them no threat to national security. A spokesman said: "The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity. Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported." Two months before Colin and Ruth had their sighting, flights of orange glowing UFOs had already been reported in the area, as this article shows: 27 UFOs 'seen over Northamptonshire' in 10 years Published Date: 14 May 2008 Written records detailing reported sightings of unidentified flying objects in Northamptonshire have been released by the Ministry of Defence. The MoD official files keep a record of UFO sightings to check on unauthorised military activity and are investigated by air defence experts. The records suggest parts of Northamptonshire could be a hotspot for UFO reports with four sightings recorded in the county last year in the Kettering and Rothwell area and Cold Ashby. The description of the reported UFO on March 7 at Cold Ashby referred to "joined lights suddenly moving independently and erratically." Lenny Archer, 48, from Ecton Brook, also saw bright orange lights in February and said the sight put doubts in his mind over extra-terrestrials. Mr Archer, a landscape gardener, said: "I was surprised to see it because first of all we saw the one orange light and then we saw several more coming behind it in 20 to 30 second intervals that shot up and then disappeared. It could have been army training but the lights were an orange colour. I've seen nothing since and I'd seen a few things before but put them down to shooting stars." Since 1998, there have been 27 reported sightings in Northamptonshire. An MoD statement said: "Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, no further work is undertaken to identify the nature of each sighting reported. Conclusion Both Colin and Ruth are convinced that what they witnessed that night was something truly unexplained. They believe that the objects were definitely controlled craft of some kind, and personally think that they were top secret military aircraft which were all heading somewhere in a hurry for unknown reasons. Certainly, aspects of this case seem very hard to explain. As soon as groups of orange lights are witnessed, we should always take the lanterns theory into account. Chinese lanterns have been responsible for many UFO sightings over recent years, and generally appear as glowing orange spheres of light that drift in patterns. Occasionally they can even catch alight and fall from the sky like a fireball. Some of the previous sightings in the Northampton area may well have been lanterns. However, with this particular incident we can discount this theory for numerous reasons. Firstly the witnesses saw solid craft behind the lights, they only appeared as orange orbs when in the distance. The majority of the objects flew in the same straight path heading to the horizon. This would seem to be too uniform and controlled, lanterns tend to drift randomly or appear to create formations. Also it was a completely still night, there was no wind at all, and it would have required quite a strong breeze for the objects to have been blown right across the sky in the same direction. When I put the lanterns theory to the witnesses, they were adamant that the objects were much too large and too controlled to have been these. Also the speed that the objects were moving at certainly looked like they were being powered. If we discount the lanterns theory because of these various reasons, what else could the objects have possibly been? It is unlikely that they were radio controlled models, there were far too many of them and again looked much too large. They also seemed far too uniform to have been balloons of some kind. So we can assume that the objects were craft, though whether alien or military it is impossible to say. There are numerous USAF bases in the local area, Colin speculates that maybe the objects were covert craft from one of these. The road closure in the area where Colin and Ruth believe the object came down is interesting. It is unlikely to have been road works as apparently the roads were only closed for that one night and then re-opened as normal. Maybe the object was located and people were called in to clear it up. However this is just a theory, there is no other evidence pointing towards this. It does stand to reason though that something landed on the ground. If the objects were solid craft as they appeared to be, then it is unlikely it would have completely burnt up in the air. The fact that these fleets of objects were seen in different locations around the UK on the same night once again points towards them being craft rather than anything else. The question remains – were they the same objects or completely different ones? It is more likely that they were different groups, otherwise there would have been many more sightings right up and down the country. Surely these objects would have been picked up on radar or attracted the attention of the military? Unless the military already knew exactly what they were. Colin and Ruth certainly seem to be two of many witnesses of a major event of some kind. Hopefully one day we will get to the bottom of what actually took place. Further sightings may well occur in the area, we will have to wait and see. 15TH AUGUST 2008 SIGHTING The couple had another sighting of an unexplained object a month later during the Northampton Hot Air Balloon Festival. They went over this sighting with me in detail when I met them in early December 2008. The yearly Northampton Balloon Festival takes place over the 3rd weekend of August, which this year was the 15th-17th. It was about 6pm-6.30pm on the first evening of the festival. The balloons pass right over the witnesses’ house on Whiteland Road, so every year they spend time outside watching them. This year was no exception and they were out on the back patio. It was a sunny clear day with a blue sky and very little cloud. Colin was looking to the North in the direction that the balloons come from awaiting the next one. He suddenly noticed an unusual object hovering still in the sky. It looked like a dark grey sphere a few metres in diameter. He estimates it was around 600 foot high. The object was making no sound and did not have any markings or lighting on it. He had not seen this sphere approach from anywhere it was just suddenly there in the sky. But the most unusual thing of all was that he didn’t seem to be able to fully focus on it. He believed it to be a solid object but couldn’t seem to lock his eyes on it, almost as if it had some kind of aura around it or was constantly moving. Colin pointed it out to Ruth. At first she couldn’t see it in the sky but then she located it. When she saw it, it appeared to be moving slowly away from them to their right. She too noticed that it was impossible to focus on the object fully. Less than a minute later the sphere vanished completely from their sight. They were mystified by what they had seen, and were convinced that it was not a balloon of any kind. Map of sighting location: 📷 Drawing of UFO: 📷 As the sighting took place in the middle of a balloon festival, some may dismiss it outright and claim that it was simply mis-identification. But if it was a balloon, why did the witnesses neither see it appear from far away or drift away to the horizon? It was visible to them for under a minute and during this time it was either stationary or moving very slowly. It seems unlikely that it was obscured by cloud as it was a very clear day and it seemed to be to low in the sky for that to happen. It was also too small to be a hot air balloon. There have been numerous UFO sightings reported where the craft displayed some sort of aura or distortion effect around it, including the infamous Rendlesham Forest incident. Could this have accounted for the fact the witnesses could not focus on the object directly? Colin suggests it could have been caused by continuous movement or vibration of the object. The witnesses believe that what they saw was some kind of covert reconnaissance probe craft, military or otherwise. Without further reported sightings of the object, we cannot progress much further with this particular case. However the witnesses did mention that their son had seen a similar grey sphere in the sky the previous year. Could this have been a similar object, or even the same one appearing on a previous occasion? 3RD OCTOBER 2009 SIGHTING On the evening of Saturday 3rd October 2009 Colin and Ruth went to a bike club birthday party. The party was held at The Rose and Crown pub on Alcester Road, Portway, Birmingham. Between 8.30-9.00pm they both went back outside to the car park to get something from the car. It was awarm and clear night, with only a little cloud in the sky, and the moon and stars visible. There was only a slight breeze. While Ruth looked in the car, Colin stood next to it looking up at the night sky. The Rose and Crown pub: 📷 He was staring to the North West in the direction of Birmingham looking at the lights of a commercial airliner at high altitude. Suddenly from behind and to the left of him came two solid very bright red lights which were in close proximity to one another, flying in a North North Westerly direction. They were a constant brightness, and Colin was not aware whether they were two lights on a single object or two separate objects. The lights were moving at an extremely fast speed, and moved right across the sky in only several seconds! Colin says if he had not been looking at that part of the sky that particular moment he would not have seen the lights at all. He believes they were at low altitude, roughly 200 feet high. As he watched, the lights appeared to jump erratically side to side on their straight flight path. Throughout the sighting the two lights kept the same distance from each other. Witness drawing of the lights: 📷 Map showing location of pub and estimated path of the lights: 📷 Colin stresses that he had not had anything to drink and that he is certain the lights were something very unusual. The strange way that the lights seem to erratically jump means that most mundane explanations do not fit what was seen. They were moving far too fast to be a normal aircraft, balloons or lanterns, and were completely silent. There was very little wind, so the speed of the objects suggests they were powered rather tan drifting. The colour and the fact that two lights were seen means it is very unlikely to have been a meteorite. Also they were on a level flight path and did not appear to be descending. If it was a secret military craft of some kind, why would they be flying over a populated area and towards Birmingham centre, this explanation would seem illogical. If the object/objects really were extraterrestrial craft, could the erratic jumping have been caused by the propulsion system? I have read and investigated numerous sightings before which have reported similar behaviour. When Bob Lazar described the recovered alien craft he had seen test flown at Area 51, he mentioned that hese craft can appear to make strange jumping movements or sudden changes of direction, and that this is an optical illusion caused by the anti-gravitational forces employed around them. This certainly seems like a possibility here and should not be dismissed, wther or not you believe Lazar’s claims. Due to the various factors in this sighting – the appearance, very fast speed, lack of sound and movement patterns observed I believe that this was something completely out of the ordinary. If you know of anyone else who also saw this object or objects please get in touch with me. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 13/10/2009 On the evening of Thursday 8th October, Sam Davies, her husband and son were driving home in Willenhall. Sam was in the passenger seat of the car. It was approximately 8.30pm and they were driving along Lucknow Road when she suddenly noticed an orange glowing orb of light in the sky in front of them heading to the East. It looked like it was at a distance and quite large, and also appeared to be moving quite fast across the sky like an aeroplane would. It was moving on a steady and level course. At first Sam thought it was a plane on fire. She looked closely and could see it flickering like flames would, it looked a bit like burning ash was falling from it. She pointed it out to her husband and son. They pulled over into a lay-by and watched the object for about a minute through the car windows. They then decided to continue their journey, with the object still visible in the night sky. They turned onto Paul Hayes Lane and still puzzled by the light, pulled over again and watched it for 30 seconds. Suddenly the object seemed to vanish without trace. At first they thought it must have gone into a cloud, but then they realised the sky was relatively free of cloud. They did not see the object after this point so continued their drive home. Map showing stretch of road which sighting occurred on and route witnesses took: 📷 The object seen by Sam and her family has all the characteristics of a Chinese lantern. It’s appearance of a flickering orange orb of light, looking like it was on fire, the fact that it did not perform any unusual manoeuvres but moved steadily on a level course, and the sudden disappearance of the object all lead me to believe it was probably a solitary lantern that had been launched by somebody. These do appear to suddenly vanish when they burn out, and the movement pattern could easily have been the object drifting in the wind. As it was against a night sky with no point of reference, it would have been hard to precisely judge how far away the object was, and therefore what speed it was really moving at. Unless further evidence becomes available to suggest otherwise, this seems the most likely explanation of what was seen. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 16/10/2009 During the daytime of Friday 16th October 2009, my six year old step-daughter had a sighting of some unusual objects in the sky over her school in Solihull. In the evening she told me all about what she had seen. She was out in the playground at lunch time at 1pm. It was quite a clear day, with patchy cloud and blue sky. She decided to start skipping. After a short while she stopped and happened to glance into the sky. She saw a white stationary light, and three red lights below in a line which were continuously rotating. Her attention was drawn to the lights for a short while. After about 10 seconds she then says she saw what she described as a “silver-coloured frisbee” emerge from the position of the lights. It moved around the sky above the playground on a circular path, and then apparently flew away over where the gate to the playground was. She was a bit scared that aliens were going to come and take her, so she started skipping again to take her mind off what she had just seen. When she looked back a short while later the lights were no longer visible. Soon afterwards she told her friend about what she had seen. In the evening she related the story to me, and soon afterwards drew the below picture, which shows the playground and herself, with the objects in the sky above: 📷 I have no doubt that my step-daughter saw something. She knows about the investigative work that I do but she was completely open about the sighting and I do not believe she was making it up. She answered many questions on it and a few days later when I asked her again, her story had not altered at all. However it is of course possible that she mistook normal aircraft for something more unusual, she is after all only six. The lights she saw were white and red; these colours of course are the same colours as normal civilian aircraft lights. But it was the middle of the day, so surely if it was a plane she would have seen its shape as well as just the lights? She has been taught how to identify aircraft, even at night-time. Also the three red lights were rotating, which of course on a normal aircraft they would not do. There is also the silver disc-shaped object which she saw emerge from the lights and move independently of them around the sky. These aspects are very interesting and point towards the sighting being of something unusual, rather than simply mistaken identity. If it wasn’t aircraft, perhaps it could have been something else such as balloons or a model of some kind, or maybe a mix of a number of things. We will probably never know for sure either way, so for now it remains an interesting and unexplained sighting. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 16/10/2009 On the evening of Friday 16th October 2009, witnesses Lesley and her daughter Becky would see some unusual lights in the sky from their home near in the Crown Hill housing estate, Milton Keynes. It was 8.30pm and Lesley was watching TV in the living room. Her daughter was upstairs and happened to glance out of the bedroom window. It was a clear and calm evening, with the stars visible but the moon out of sight. To the South she noticed a number of bright orange orbs of light moving in a Northern direction. They appeared to be quite large in size, low in the sky, and seemed to be moving about the same speed as a slow moving aircraft. Map showing location of sighting: 📷 Becky called Lesley who then came to the window and also saw the lights. There were between six and eight of them and they were all moving in the same direction. They were constantly bright with no flickering visible. At first they appeared to be in a line but as they watched they started to spread out a bit. The object at the tail end appeared to be slower and lower in the sky than the other objects. It was also a deeper reddish colour than the others. Lesley opened the bedroom window and listened but could hear no noise coming from them. They continued to watch the lights for about two minutes. Over this time they gradually spread out until they formed more of a horse-shoe like shape. The objects appeared to move to the North until they went out of sight. Both the witnesses were mystified as to what they had seen and had never seen anything like it before. This sighting shows all the characteristics of Chinese lanterns, and it is these which I think are more than likely responsible for what was experienced. Lesley has watched some videos of lanterns on the net, and says that the lights they saw appeared bigger and brighter. However lanterns do often appear extremely bright and larger in size than they are in reality. They may not always flicker and can sometimes appear constantly bright. Against the night sky it can be very hard to judge exactly how far away they are and how fast they are moving. The lights did not display any manoeuvres that would point towards them being under intelligent control. The fact that they began in a line before starting to move apart, and all moved in the same direction, suggests that they were all being launched from the same point and then drifting in an air current. Lesley said it was a calm evening with no wind, but at higher altitude there may well have been. The light at the rear that was more reddish in colour may well have been a lantern which did not light as well as the others, this would also explain why it appeared to be lower than the other lights and not moving as fast. The more heated the air inside the lantern becomes, the faster it will rise into the sky. It is also possible that the other lights at a higher altitude were caught in a stronger air current than the final one. Therefore, due to the numerous aspects described, I feel that this sighting was probably of a number of Chinese lanterns that were being launched from an unknown location near to the witnesses. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 18/10/2009 Introduction With many UFO sightings, the object or objects seen are indiscriminate lights, or seen at such a distance that no clear picture can be made of them. However occasionally a sighting occurs where a great amount of detail can be made out. It is this type of sighting which Pete Sutton was lucky enough to witness in April 2009. Little did he know as he set out to walk the dog that he would see something which would change his views on UFOs for ever – what can only be described as two extremely unusual flying craft! Soon afterwards we would also discover that a possible sighting of one of these craft had also taken place two days before Pete's sighting. But this would not be the end of his UFO encounters. Since April, Pete has had a number of other sightings, of both the same craft and other unexplained objects. This report will cover each incident in seperate sections. UFO witness Peter Sutton: 📷 4th APRIL 2009 UFO SIGHTING Pete lives in the village of Sedgley to the north of Birmingham. Late evening on the 4th April 2009 he decided to take his pet dog Jake out for a walk to the pub which lies on the far side of Sedgley Hall Park. It was around 10.35pm when he set out. The moon was clearly visible in the night sky, and the weather was very clear and still. There was nobody else around so it was very peaceful. The entrance to the park lies just around the corner from Padarn Close where Peter lives. As he walked along the path he glanced to his right at the moon above the tree tops. It is then that he noticed an orange glowing light to the right of it, hovering in the sky. He assumed at the time that it must be a police helicopter or the air ambulance which regularly can be seen flying between RAF Cosford and Birmingham Accident Hospital. After a few seconds he lost sight of it behind the trees. Photograph in direction where Pete saw the orange light: 📷 Continuing along the path he entered the park and began heading up the gentle slope. It was quite dark with the moon giving the only light. The park is split into two grass fields. As he was half way along the upper field of the park, he happened to glance around to take a look at the night sky. Due to the height of the park it is possible to see towards the west between the trees. Satellite map of Sedgley Hall Park showing location where sighting took place: 📷 It is then that he noticed two brightly glowing large orange lights in the sky to the North West West. The lights were slowly coming towards him. He estimated they were travelling at around 35mph and around 200 feet in the sky, climbing slightly. Peter is a pilot so is adept at determining relative distance, height, speed and size of objects. At a distance the lights looked like they were next to each other. Photograph at sighting location in direction where UFOs came from: 📷 He continued to stare at the objects. As they approached he realised they were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were now about 300 feet above ground level. He could see now that one object was about 300 metres behind the other and to one side. They were illuminated by the moonlight and looked metallic medium grey in colour. He describes them as being wedge-shaped with a curved top which was split into separate segments akin to a barrel. All the corners and edges on them were rounded. He estimated they were around 30-40 feet long by 15-25 feet wide. He immediately believed them to be craft, more than likely extraterrestrial in origin, as they were so unlike anything he had seen before. They were approaching slightly to the south of his position, and from the edges that he could see, vivid orange and red coloured light was being emitted. This light was in alternating red and orange squares and appeared to be flowing out of the side of the objects continuously and falling down for quite a distance before fading. He believes this was a form of waste energy being dismissed. They had a wide orange light running along the front of them. He feels that the reason for this could have been to create negative energy to slow down the craft. They were completely silent even when relatively close to his position. Witness drawing of one of the objects, showing light being emitted: 📷 Sketch showing object shape from a side on angle: 📷 Pete was completely astounded by what he was witnessing but felt no fear. He held his arms apart in awe as the objects flew close by past his position. The dog did not appear bothered at all by the craft. As they past they began to change direction until they were heading in a North Easterly direction. He kept watching them above the trees and could now make out the backs of the craft which were “cut off” and flat. Each had a row of four red lights on the back. Suddenly the light being emitted from the side of the object faded and then both dramatically increased in acceleration. Peter estimates they must have accelerated to hundreds of miles an hour. Within seconds they had completely vanished from sight. Looking back in the direction which he had seen the objects come from, he saw a large fireworks display going on in the distance. He assumed it was taking place out near Lloyd Hall Farm a couple of miles to the NWW. It was so far from him that he could not hear the explosions, he could just see the show. Satellite map showing estimated area of fireworks display, location of witness and path the UFOs took: 📷 About 10 seconds later he heard the distant noise of jet afterburners being fired. Staring to the north he could make out the red flashing navigation lights of at least two military jets. He estimates they were about 10 miles North East of Wolverhampton. These lights were moving towards the direction the objects had been seen to go in. Photograph at sighting location in direction UFOs flew away: 📷 Pete was absolutely amazed at what he had just witnessed. He felt certain that he craft were extraterrestrial and that the military had known about their presence and attempted to intercept them. He excitedly walked home and told his wife all about what he had seen. The middle of the following day, Pete decided to ring West Midlands News. They informed him that there had been a number of other sightings which had been reported, and that someone from Sutton Coldfield also had a photograph. He also contacted the Express & Star newspaper. Pete checked the news on television and radio for the next couple of days but there was nothing about any UFOs. He rang West Midlands News back on Tuesday afternoon to enquire as to what had happened. They informed him that all reports and information they had received on the UFOs had been erased from their computer. They could not understand this at all and did not know who to blame. Sedgley and the surrounding area is in the restricted flight area for Birmingham Airport. So Peter decided he would next ring Birmingham Approach Flight Control Tower to enquire about the UFOs. He got through to a young man. Below is the transcript of the call: P: I want to talk to someone about the inurnment in your restricted area in your North Western sector on Saturday evening. M: It wasn’t you was it? It caused loads of trouble here. P: Definitely not. M: If you want to speak to my manager ring back in 30 minutes. Pete rang back after half an hour and got on the phone to the manager. He said the same thing to him but the manager completely denied that anything had taken place. After driving out to meet Pete to discuss his sighting, I too decided to contact air traffic control at Birmingham Airport. The person I spoke with informed me that there had been no incursions into their air space on the evening of 4th April. I also contacted West Midlads News to see if I could obtain any details on the other reported sightings which had been mentioned. Unfortunately as Peter did not get a name when he rang up, they could not locate the same individual for me. On Friday 17th April, Pete’s sighting appeared in the Express & Star newspaper, alongside another sighting which took place at West Midlands Safari Park. This other sighting does not appear related to what Peter saw. Express & Star Newspaper Article Saucer in skies to join pasties Friday, April 17, 2009 Builders working at West Midlands Safari Park were shocked to see a flying saucer soaring above them. Duane Woodhouse says he and three workmates saw a UFO passing overhead at 7.30am yesterday. The 25-year-old, of Willenhall Road, Wolverhampton said: "There were four of us on the building site when we saw this thing in the sky. It was like a flying saucer, a disc shape. We were all totally shocked, we didn't know what it was. I've never seen anything like it before." A spokesman for Birmingham International Airport said they were not aware of any reported sightings and did not have any aircraft flying over the park near Bewdley at that time. On April 4, two UFOs shaped like Cornish pasties were spotted flying over Sedgley. Peter Sutton saw the bright orange objects moving in the sky near his home in Padarn Close. The Royal Mail driver says he is convinced they "were not of this earth". They were travelling from the direction of Wombourne and he watched them make their way towards Wolverhampton at 10.35pm. The 59-year-old said he could clearly see the orange surfaces of the pastie-shaped objects. Pete also paid for an advert and sent in a letter to the paper. Both appealed for other UFO witnesses from the local area to come forward. Two previous witnesses did contact BUFOG as a direct result of reading Pete's letter (See later). MOD Freedom Of Information Request Shortly after speaking to Pete about his sighting, I sent the following request to Freedom Of Information at the Ministry Of Defense: "I would like to request any information you have on military jet operations or training exercises (To include the reason for these operations or exercises) which took place on Saturday 4th April 2009 around 10.45pm in the airspace North East of Wolverhampton / North of Sedgley, Birmingham. I have heard from a contact that it is unusual for military jets to be flown in this area at this time of night due to the noise levels." I received a reply on 1st June 2009 stating the following: "From available records held at Headquarters Air Command for Saturday 4 April 2009, I have been unable to trace records of any RAF jet operations around 10:45pm in the airspace North East of Wolverhampton/North of Sedgley, Birmingham. For completeness I have approached the Royal Navy, who informed me that none of their jet aircraft were in the area you asked about at the time you mentioned. I have also confirmed that the Army do not have any jet aircraft. It is possible that there were civilian aircraft movements around 10.45pm on 4 April in the areas you mentioned. Airspace policy for civilian aircraft is regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)." As you can see from this reply, the MOD have stated that there were no military jets in the area at the time of Pete's sighting. Does this mean that he mistook one or more civilian aircraft for military jets? Or is it yet more evidence that a cover up regarding this incident has taken place? Pete is adamant that he heard afterburners being fired, which would not have occured if the aircraft were civilian. A Previous Sighting? A sighting of a UFO which I believe was possibly the same as what Pete saw occurred in Sedgley two days prior to his sighting. It was 5.40pm on Thursday 2nd April 2009. The two witnesses, Steve and Hayley, were driving to the shopsthrough Upper Gornal towards Sedgley. It was a clear sunny day with a bit of cloud cover. Hayley first spotted the object in the distance ahead of them off to their left. It was metallic grey in colour, and had an elongated shape with curved edges. From their position there appeared to be no lights, wings or markings on the object. It was stationary and hovering in the sky. Due to the distance they cannot say whether or not the object was silent. Hayley exclaimed “What’s that up there? What is it?” and Steve who was driving then also sighted the object. About ten seconds later it suddenly accelerated and rapidly moved across the sky to the right, descending slightly until it disappeared behind a row of houses. The witnesses said this was much too fast to be a normal aircraft or something drifting in the wind. Witness drawing of the UFO and its path on top of a photograph of the sighting location: 📷 They continued driving, and as they passed the houses, Hayley caught sight of it between them. The object had stopped moving and was once again hovering still in the sky. Unfortunately they were in traffic so could not stop the car and once again lost sight of the object. Hayley did try to look for it again half an hour later on their return journey but could not see it anywhere. As you can see this sighting has numerous similarities with what Pete Sutton witnessed. The colour and smooth curved shape of the object both fit with his description. Hayley and Steve did not see any lights on the object, however it was daylight so maybe the lights were switched off, or were not visible due to the sunlight. The sudden controlled acceleration of the object matches what Pete witnessed towards the end of his sighting. Hayley and Steve did not see any flowing light/energy coming from the object, however Pete himself mentioned that before the two craft he saw picked up speed and flew away this flowing light/energy actually stopped, it was only when they were travelling slower that it was visible. Due to the movement pattern observed it is very unlikely to have been an airship, balloon or other inflatable. It moved from a stationary position extremely fast and then became completely stationary again. This suggests it was under intelligent control. Its appearance confirms that it was not a conventional aircraft or helicopter. The fact that this object was seen in the same local area and only two days prior to Pete’s sighting suggests that this was an initial sighting of either the same or a similar craft, and that they were present in the area for a number of days (or at least returned to the area). Other Newspaper Article Express & Star, 10th September 2009: 📷 Although the objects seen in this sighting moved towards Sedgley, I do not believe they are the same craft that Pete saw. From the limited information available I believe the objects could well have been Chinese lanterns. These appear as orange orbs of light, are often launched simultaneously and can move around randomly in the sky depending on whether they are caught in gusts of wind or not. 31ST MAY 2009 UFO SIGHTING Late evening on Sunday 31st May, Pete decided to walk to Sedgley for a drink at his local pub. It was a clear and dry night and the stars were out. He decided to walk through Sedgley Hall Park, along the public footpath amd past the location where he had seen the two unusual craft back in April. On many evenings since that incredible night he had come to the park to skywatch, in the hope of having another sighting. Towards the top of the park is a grass-covered track which leads to the village. He reached this and decided to stop and stare at the sky for a number of minutes. Overhead view of park showing location of grass track: 📷 Suddenly he noticed an object coming in from the West and heading in an Easterly direction. It looked different to the craft he had seen in April. It looked like a black delta-shaped object which blocked out the stars. As it got closer to his position he could see it was shaped like an elongated triangle. The back of the object was curved inwards like a half-moon. Despite looking different in appearance to the craft back in April, it again had reddish-orange energy falling out of the left side of it. Pete estimates the object was 80-100 foot wide. It was flying at low altitude, around 500 feet high. It was moving at roughly 50mph. He tried taking a photograph of it on his mobile phone but sadly due to the darkness only got a red glow, which he believed was the energy coming from it. As he watched, the object turned and altered its course to head in a Southerly direction. When it did this he could no longer see the energy coming from it. Either the energy had stopped falling from the object or it could not be seen due to the angle he was now viewing it at. As it continued on it’s course away from his position, Pete could now see a row of five white strobe lights on the rear of the object. These flashed roughly every few seconds, in much the same way that wingtip lights on an aeroplane strobe on and off. He continued to watch until it flew out of sight behind the lie of the land. Pete was astounded that he had experienced another UFO sighting, and believes that this could possibly have been a sighting of the infamous “Dudley Dorrito” – a triangular shaped craft seen numerous times in the area. However the fact that it had similar electrical energy pouring from it tends to suggest it was in some way related to his previous sighting in April. At least to my knowledge, none of the other sightings of the "Dudley Dorrito" have described this falling energy. As you will find out later in this report, this would not be the last time he would see this particular object, which Pete again believes was certainly an extraterrestrial craft. 31ST AUGUST 2009 UFO SIGHTING Pete and his wife own some horses that they keep in some local stables, half a mile to the West of their home in Sedgley. The stables are next to some open fields. About 5pm on 31st August 2009 (which was a bank holiday) they decided to go and check up on the horses. They both walked out to the stables. When they reached them, they met up with the owner of the stables. While his wife chatted with the stables owner under a tree, Pete stood out in the open next to the stables, looking up at the sky and watching a flock of sparrows. It was a nice evening, dry with patchy cloud, through which he could see blue sky. As he watched the birds flying through the air, an unusual object caught his attention. He saw what looked like a black disc-shaped object flying at very high altitude. He estimates the object was at least 20000 feet high and was within a mile of his position. It was moving in a South-Westerly direction on a straight flight path. If it was at the altitude it appeared to be, Pete estimates that it was moving over 600 mph, and was at least the size of an airliner. The object appeared to be tipping back and forth on it’s axis, diagonally one way then diagonally the other way roughly every couple of seconds. When it tipped one direction it appeared to almost go invisible, Pete believes because of the angle he was looking at it. This made the object appear to continuously vanish then reappear. He believes it was possibly doing this to avoid being detected on radar. It was moving at a fast speed across the sky. He watched it for 10 seconds before calling his wife so she could see it too. However by the time she had walked over to him, the object had disappeared into the distance. This is an interesting and unusual sighting. Pete is very good at judging distances and relative sizes due to his piloting skills. Therefore we must assume that the object really was very high up, large in size and moving at a very fast speed. This means it is unlikely to have been debris or an inflatable object drifting in the wind. Pete says the tipping motion of the object looked very controlled, and feels certain it was doing this on purpose. It is unlikely the object was space debris re-entering the atmosphere as this would descend rather than fly on a horizontal course, and would also glow as it burnt up. These facts means that the object will currently remain unidentified, but has the possibility of being an unusual craft of some kind. 26TH SEPTEMBER 2009 UFO SIGHTINGS On this particular evening, Pete would have three sightings of craft/objects he had seen before on previous occassions, as well as a fourth unidentified sighting! The weather was again clear and dry, so Pete thought it would be an ideal evening to go for a skywatch at Sedgley Hall Park. At 9pm he decided to drive up to the top of the park, and parked his car on the grass track. He took two of his pet dogs with him and let them run around as he stood by the car and watched for activity in the sky. He also had with him a two-way radio, which he used to send out a communication in the hope that any ET craft in the area would hear it and approach his position. At approximately 9.15pm he saw one of the same objects he had seen back in April coming in from the West. It was between 1000-1500 feet high and moving at at least 50 mph. When he first spotted it, it was at least a mile from his position. Again he could see the orange and red “waste energy” falling from the left side of the object. The energy appeared to be drifting like material would, and for the first time Pete got the impression that perhaps it was running down material of some kind rather than free falling from the craft. The object followed the same course as his previous sightings – first heading to the East then shifting its course and flying out of sight to the South. Pete tried taking a photograph of the craft on his phone but it was too dark and nothing came out. He watched the craft for about one and a half minutes before it was lost from view. Half an hour later, he watched another object of the same appearance approach, again moving on the same course. Pete wonders if it was the same craft and it had circled around. This certainly seems a good possibility due to the fact the identical path it flew on. Again like before it flew away to the South out of sight, and did not appear to communicate with him in any way. At about 10pm Pete noticed a very bright white light coming from the South West at a very high altitude. He wondered if it was a normal aircraft. He continued to watch it for a couple of minutes as it got much closer to his position. Suddenly the light went out, and he could see absolutely nothing where it had been. If it was a normal aircraft there would have been some other lights still visible but whatever it was had either completely vanished or had no other lights on it and was too dark to see against the sky. Soon after the sighting of the white light, Pete decided to drive the car back to his house, and then head out again on foot through the park on his way to Sedgley for a drink. As he walked back through the lower part of the park and reached a bend in the footpath, he noticed something in the sky, flying away from his position towards the East. He immediately recognised it as the delta-shaped craft he had seen back in May. It had the familiar row of five white strobe lights on its rear. It was at a low altitude, no more than 500 feet. It remained visible for about 30 seconds, during which it gradually turned towards the South, before it was lost from sight. Overhead view of park showing approximate location of witness: 📷 Pete wonders if ths craft was investigating him personally, and if this sighting, and the earlier ones in the evening, had anything to do with the radio message he had broadcast. Conclusion Pete's sightings are absolutely stunning, and after speaking with him numerous times I am convinced that he is not making up these incidents. Pete owns his own light aircraft and is a pilot, so he is certainly experienced at identifying conventional aircraft of different types. The description of the craft he has seen obviously differ wildly from any form of known aircraft, military or otherwise. Peter is not trying to make any money out of his stories, he just feels it is important that people know about them. He comes across as a very level-headed and honest individual. The amount of follow up work that he did to try and find out whether anyone else saw the craft back in April is another sign that he is telling the truth. Some of the objects Pete has seen clearly appear to be unknown craft of some kind. Their appearance, size and speed that they accelerated to clearly means that they were not radio controlled objects, balloons or any conventional aircraft. I am certain that the witness did not imagine the objects and that they do not have any natural or atmospheric explanation. It seems extremely unlikely that they were top secret military craft in development – why would they fly them at such low altitude over a populated area? As far as I am aware there have been no other documented cases reporting the type of craft that Pete saw initially (Although I’m sure there are some which have some similar aspects). So what are we dealing with here? Is this perhaps a brand new craft type that has not been witnessed before? Could the pilots be of a new species that have never been encountered? Why do the objects seem to be repeatedly visiting the same area? Pete believes that the craft were flying at such a low altitude to attempt to hide from radar. He also thinks that the reason they were in the area back in April was that they were drawn to or observing the fireworks display, as this was in the direction they came from. There is evidence that there has been an attempt to cover up aspects of the initial incident. When Pete first contacted air traffic control the individual he spoke to certainly reacted like they had detected some unexplained activity in the area. However when he called back the manager 30 minutes later, he denied that anything had taken place and said that nothing had shown up on radar. This time between the two calls would have given ample time to come up with a cover story. Also were the reports that West Midlands News had taken on UFO sightings in the area removed from their computer on purpose to prevent the release of certain information? It could of course have just been an accident, but it is still an interesting aspect of the case. It looks like there was military involvement and that they were aware of the objects. Pete says that although military jets are seen in the area, they usually fly during the day and would never fire their afterburners during night time hours as they are extremely loud. The jets that he saw to the north of his position flew off in the direction that the UFOs headed in. Could they have been attempting to intercept them? There are of course outstanding questions regarding these incidents, questions which may one day be answered. What I can say is that these are some of the most impressive sightings I have looked into so far, and I hope that if they continue, Pete will be able to get some decent photographic or video evidence, as at the moment we only really have his word to go on. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 18/10/2009 This sighting took place at 12.30am on Saturday 4th October 2009. Chris Vince was having a cigarette at the back door of his house on Humber Avenue, Coventry. He was looking into the night sky towards the city centre. It was a dry and still night, with light cloud cover. The stars and moon were both visible. Suddenly he noticed a bright orange orb of light moving across the sky on a level course in a Westerly direction. It was hard to judge the size, distance and height of the light, but he estimates it was at least a mile away from his position. It looked quite large, possibly due to the brightness of the light coming from it. This light was constant and did not change in brightness at all. As he watched he then saw a second similar object following along behind the first on the same course. Map showing location of Humber Avenue: 📷 He called his wife who came to the back door and also saw the lights. She was amazed and asked what the objects were, but Chris had no idea and had never seen anything like them before. It was a quiet night and they could hear no sound coming from the objects. They watched them moving across the sky, visible above the rooftops of nearby houses. A third light appeared, again following the same course. At this moment Chris decided to run upstairs to get his mobile phone to try and take a photograph. From the bedroom window he could now see four lights, all travelling after one another. Chris ran back outside and both him and his wife walked down the garden to continue watching the lights. He tried taking a photograph but it was too dark and didn’t come out. They continued to watch until they all moved out of sight behind the buildings. They were both mystified by what they had seen and soon afterwards Chris decided to contact BUFOG about the sighting. From the description and movement pattern of the objects, I believe that they were probably a number of Chinese lanterns drifting in the wind. These appear as bright orange glowing orbs at a distance. Although they sometimes are seen to flicker, they also sometimes appear constantly bright. Chris said the weather conditions were still, however there may well have been a breeze at the altitude the lights were seen at. The fact that they all moved in the same direction with no sign that they were under intelligent control could well mean they were drifting rather than being propelled. It was hard for the witnesses to judge the distance and therefore size and speed of the objects, so there are no indications that the objects may have been something other than lanterns. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Last Updated: 28/10/2009 On the evening of Saturday 24th October, witness Scott Norville had a sighting of two glowing orange UFOs. It was about 8pm and Scott was driving home from Northampton centre. By this time of evening the roads were relatively quiet, though there were a few other cars around. It was an overcast night with full cloud cover, so the stars were not visible at all. As Scott drove along London Road, he suddenly noticed an orange light in the sky about half a mile from his position to the South West West. He estimated it was about 3000 feet high. He watched the light, expecting it to flash and indicate to him that it was an aircraft or helicopter. He thought to himself that perhaps it was the "Sywell Blades" aerobatic team on their way back to Sywell Aerodrome. However the light appeared to be coming from an individual object and was constantly bright. It looked to be heading in his direction slowly, at about 10 mph. After 20 seconds he decided to pull over and get out to take a better look at the object. The object continued to head on a straight path towards his position. As it flew overhead, it appeared to be circular in shape and quite large, he estimates it was 20-25 metres across. He also noted that it was completely silent. It continued onward on the same course until it was lost behind some trees. In total he had watched the object for about 3 minutes. Looking back in the direction it had come from, Scott then saw a second object which looked exactly the same. Again it flew on the same path as the first object and passed over his position. Map showing route of Scott's car, and position and direction of the objects: 📷 Perspective map showing path of the objects over witness and car: 📷 Once the second object had been lost from sight, he got back in his car and continued his journey home. A short while later, he checked the internet and found that there have been a number of similar sightings in the area over recent months. Scott is interested in aviation. He has been to many air shows and is a member of the Vulcan to the sky club. He is used to seeing aircraft in the sky, but these objects were like nothing he had ever seen before. He says that they looked too large to be Chinese lanterns, and is aware that some sightings of orange lights do turn out to be these. Other than the apparent size of the objects, they do share many characteristics with lanterns. They were not flickering but sometimes lanterns can appear constantly bright. They moved on the same flight path at a slow speed, were not at a particularly high altitude, and did not perform any manoeuvres which would suggest they were under intelligent control, so may well have been drifting in the direction of the wind. It is possible that the objects appeared bigger than they actually were. It is sometimes hard to judge the size against the night sky as there is no point of reference. Also the brightness of the glow can sometimes make lanterns look a lot larger. Could the witness have mistaken two Chinese lanterns for something much more unusual? It is hard to say for sure, but at this point I feel this is probably what took place. In recent years lanterns have become much more popular and are readily available, and are no doubt responsible for many of the orange orb sightings reported to both BUFOG and other groups or websites. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 28/10/2009 As a UFO group, occasionally we of course get sent photographs of unusual objects in the sky. While some of these are undoubtedly mistaken identity and nothing more than aircraft, birds or insects, sometimes the photos appear to show something much more unusual. This report is about one such photograph, which was sent to me on 25th October 2009. The photographer, Rob Taylor, wanted my opinion on what he had managed to capture in a photograph taken while visiting the Pyramids in Giza, Egypt. Of course this location has, in many peoples eyes, already got connections with the subject of ufology, making this photograph even more interesting. I asked Rob many questions about the photograph to obtain as much detail as possible about when and how it was taken. The Photograph In November 2007 Rob and his wife Emma went on holiday to Egypt. Of course no holiday to Egypt would be complete without a visit to the Pyramids of Giza, and on the 12th November, this is precisely what they did. It was a very hot day, with light hazy cloud covering the sky. Accompanying Rob and Emma was a local guide and historian named Ibrahim. Rob had his Sony Mavica Disc camera with him, and took a number of photographs of the site. It was 1pm and he decided to take a photograph of the Sphinx, with Khufu pyramid in the background. He saw nothing out of the ordinary when he took the photograph, and continued to take other photographs throughout the afternoon. Satellite photograph showing approximate position that Rob took the photograph from: 📷 When they returned home, Rob and Emma scanned in the photographs and took a look through them. They were amazed to see what appeared to be one/two saucer-shaped objects in the sky to the left of the pyramid. Original photograph with UFOs visible on the left: 📷 None of the other photographs contained anything out of the ordinary. Rob zoomed in on the objects and studied the photograph in depth. He works with CCTV and cameras, and feels certain that the objects are not birds or insects. There were no planes or other aircraft in the area while they were there, and Rob says if there were they would have been easily noticeable against the hazy sky. He believes that the objects on the photograph may well be craft of extraterrestrial origin. Photographic Analysis There are three unusual objects/anomalies present in the middle left of the photograph. Firstly there appear to be two small “classic” saucer-shaped objects. There is also a very faint third object to their right which is hard to make out. The objects of interest: 📷 First let us examine the saucer-shaped objects. Zoomed and edge find images of upper object: 📷 📷 Zoomed and edge find images of lower object: 📷 📷 As you can see the two objects appear to be of similar shape. The upper object certainly appears to be a solid object of some kind which is reflecting the light of the sun, with the shadow visible along its underside. The lower object is of a similar shape, but appears less solid and white in colour. It also appears not quite symmetrical when viewed up close. Could it be some sort of reflection of the upper object in the camera lens? Or is it a separate object in its own right which is reflecting the light differently, or which is perhaps not fully in our visible spectrum/dimension? Perhaps it has some sort of trail behind it which is the reason why it does not look fully symmetrical. I do not believe it is simply a small cloud, as it looks much too defined and bright against the rest of the sky. The objects appear to be at a distance from the camera and behind the pyramid but this may just be an optical illusion. The objects do not appear to be normal aircraft. Nor do they appear to be birds or insects passing the camera, however this is something which cannot fully be ruled out at present. The third object/anomaly is very faint and smaller (more distant?) than the two saucer-shaped objects, and can be seen to the right of them. As it is so faint it is hard to judge its actual form. It could very well be a third similar object at a distance, and may even be partially hidden by the hazy cloud visible in the sky. Zoomed and edge find images of third object: 📷 📷 I feel that this photograph certainly warrants further analysis and is quite an interesting image. If I manage to get more thorough analysis done on the photograph, the results will be added to this report. For now it remains an intriguing photo that perhaps shows one or more genuine extraterrestrial or extradimensional craft. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Craig Lowe Release Date: 31/10/2009 Red light over my house at 19.50pm 31/10/09 Probably a latern, but light did seem extremely high and traveled from South horizon directly over my house heading north very quickly. Craig Lowe - BUFOG. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 05/11/2009 Early morning on 1st November at 12.45am witness Jason B. had a sighting of an unusual light in the sky. He was standing out in his back garden of his house on Liddon Grove, Acocks Green, having a cigarette. There was heavy cloud cover but it was a relatively still and dry night. He happened to glance up into the sky, and a light caught his eye. He saw what looked like a round reddish-orange coloured glowing object. He estimates it was at least the size of a helicopter but could not be certain due to the distance from him, which he estimated at several miles. The object was in the direction of Birmingham Airport and was moving at a slow speed towards his location. Map showing location of Liddon Grove: 📷 Jason was intrigued by the object and stood and watched it. It first moved from side to side, and then moved in a horseshoe-type shape in an arc towards his position. At first he thought it must be a police helicopter, but as it got closer he realised there was no sound coming from it. After about 30 seconds the object vanished, Jason believes it was probably lost behind cloud. He did not see the object again after this point so went back inside. I too believe that both myself and some of my friends saw either the same or a very similar object. I was holding a Halloween party and we were out in the back garden of my house in Solihull. I looked up into the sky and saw a glowing orange orb of light that appeared to be occasionally flickering. It was moving at a slow speed in the direction of Acocks Green/Olton, and appeared to be at quite low altitude, possibly 200 feet. I pointed it out to my friends and we watched it for several seconds before it vanished behind nearby housing. I cannot be absolutely certain of the time when we saw the object, but I think it was early morning, so it seems probable that it was the same one that was seen by Jason. Map showing estimated path of the object I witnessed and locations of both mine and Jason’s sighting: 📷 I immediately recognised the object as a Chinese lantern, and this is what I believe both myself and Jason saw. The appearance and movement of the object certainly fits this explanation. Jason believes that the object was too large to be a lantern, however it is often hard to tell the real size and distance of objects in the sky, especially after dark. Lanterns also glow very brightly which again can make them seem larger than they actually are. They can stay lit for up to 45 minutes so this would be easily enough time for it to drift from my location to where Jason was situated. I am quite convinced that what I saw was a lantern, but obviously cannot be certain that Jason saw the same object, or that what he saw was not something more unusual. However this seems like the most probable explanation for both the sightings. You can see on the map above that the lantern I witnessed was heading roughly in the direction of Liddon Grove, and of course the wind direction could easily have changed. Over recent months we have received many sightings which can probably be attributed to Chinese lanterns. They seem to be particularly popular at the moment, possibly due to Bonfire Night and Christmas being just round the corner. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009

Birmingham UFO Group Case Report Author: Dave Hodrien Release Date: 12/11/2009 On the evening of 8th November 2009 witness Pete Fitter, and his wife and son saw some unexplained lights in the skies over Rhos On Sea, Colwyn Bay, North Wales. It was 7.15pm when they spotted the lights to the North of their position. There were three orange glowing lights in a triangular shape. It was a partially cloudy evening with gaps of clear sky with stars visible. The lights were at quite high altitude, and appeared bigger than the surrounding stars. The lights were moving towards the West at a slow speed. The only sound they could hear was that of another conventional aircraft also in the vicinity. They could make out the flashing lights of this plane. Pete checked the objects through his binoculars and was surprised that they did not seem to change size when he looked at them through these. Aerial photographic map of Rhos On Sea (Precice sighting location unknown): 📷 The witnesses continued to watch the lights. They then began moving at a faster speed, and after watching them for about 30 seconds they suddenly vanished without trace. Currently BUFOG has no further details on this sighting as Pete did not leave us his contact details, but if he gets back in touch this report may well be updated. From what he has already revealed, there is the possibility that the lights may well have been three Chinese lanterns drifting in a triangular pattern. However there is also the possibility that they were something else entirely, either three objects or all part of one large object. Pete does not believe they were lanterns as he feels that this would have been obvious when he looked at them through his binoculars. But they may have been too far away to see clearly even under magnification. It is unknown how fast the lights appeared to accelerate, whether they retained their position to each other and whether they all vanished at exactly the same moment. All of these factors would help either prove or disprove the lanterns theory. Without this information we can only speculate at this point as to what the witnesses saw. Copyright Dave Hodrien 2009