Published: 03 August 2009
Published by: David Lawson
EXPERTS are investigating possible reasons for mysterious flashes of light, which illuminated the night skies over Hengoed and St Martins for more than an hour last week.
People from Hengoed to St Martins reported the flashes, which lit up the sky overhead for around an hour between midnight and 1am last Wednesday, the flashes coming at regular intervals, each seeming to completely illuminate the night sky for a splitsecond.
Paul Conde of Hengoed, who watched the lights with his family said the bright flashes came at intervals of around seven to eight minutes, appearing briefly without any accompanying sound, adding that it was difficult to see if the light was emanating from the ground or sky.
The noiseless bright white flashes of light were also reported in nearby St Martins, where witnesses described them as being too brief to be a flare and covering too much of the sky to be a mere firework, leading some to suspect some kind of electrical storm.
The following day some individual homes reported power fluctuations. SP Manweb, investigating the possible link between the two, say there was no evidence of any problem on their grid, but added minor isolated power fluctuations at individual properties are not always picked up by their system and they were continuing to speak to people.
Mr Conde said while the lights had been strange and impressive to watch, nothing had lead him to suspect there was not a straight forward explanation.
For those seeking a more unusual explanation however, these reports happen coincide with an unusually high number of UFO reports received by the area’s research unit in Shrewsbury.
Philip Hoyle, of the UFO Investigation and Research Unit in Shrewsbury, says high numbers of orange sphere reports have been received from the Llansanffraid area:
“Other witnesses are describing not spheres but cigar shaped craft with lights or windows along the side,” added Mr Hoyle who said he had spoken recently to a motorist driving from Llanfyllin to Llansanffraid who claimed to have seem a cigar shaped craft flying very low over his car.
Unusual sightings or occurances can be reported to the Investigation and Research Unit at phil.hoyle@yahoo.co.uk or 01743 245574.
