UFO sightings bring town to a standstill
Daily Mail
July 25, 2007
A crowd of 100 stunned stargazers brought a town centre to a standstill when five mysterious UFOs were spotted hovering in the sky.
Drinkers spilled out of pubs, motorists stopped to gawp and camera phones were aimed upwards as the five orbs, in a seeming formation, hovered above Stratford-Upon-Avon for half an hour.
The unidentified flying objects lit up the otherwise clear night sky above Shakespeare’s birthplace in Warwickshire on Saturday.
Although Air Traffic Control reported no unusual activity, some witnesses were convinced they were witnessing an extra-terrestrial spectacle.
Crowds gathered to gawp at the strange lights that hovered silently over Stratford for 30 minutes
The strange episode started just after 10.30pm, when the lights were seen hovering slowly over the town before three of them formed a triangular shape with one positioned just to the right.
A few minutes later a fifth came into view travelling towards the others at breakneck speed before slowing down and stopping a short distance away.
Sceptics dismissed the UFOs as nothing more than hot air balloons, fireworks or even lanterns which had broken loose from a local rugby club.
Others, however, claimed the speed and agility of the objects was unlike any known aircraft and said the odd movement, lack of noise and the length of time in the air discounted any man-made explanation.
Tom Hawkes, who captured these amazing images, spotted the lights during his girlfriend Kate Lyall’s birthday at the One Elm pub.
He and the 15 other revellers were in the bar when they spotted some commotion outside.
Tom, 30, said: “We walked outside and there was at that time a growing crowd of about 60 people looking up at something in the sky.
“I saw this light appear, then three others. They came over our heads in formation but then manouvered into different positions.
“Three had formed a triangular shape and one was to the right. Then another one came hurtling towards the rest at what looked like a very fast speed. But as it neared them it suddenly slowed and stopped altogether.
“By this time more people had poured out onto the street. Two pubs had emptied, some people had come out of their houses and drivers slowed their cars.
“The objects were there for about half an hour. It was very eerie because they didn’t make any sound and they stayed still before moving slowly beyond the horizon. There were no stars in the sky, just them.
“It was the most extraordinary thing I’ve ever seen and the way in which everyone gathered in the street to watch them reminded me of a scene from Independence Day.”
The extraordinary scenes were also witnessed by some of the staff of the One Elm pub.
Chef Kern Griffiths, 26, said: “I saw five lights, we all thought they were hot air balloons at first because the glowing spheres looked like a burst of flames. But I couldn’t see any outline of the balloon itself and they were travelling far too fast.
“Suddenly someone shouted ‘look’ and there were these bright dots fizzing across the sky.Read the rest of the article here.
Image: Ursi’s Eso Garden