874

6.15 PM. Clear sky, little cloud. Warm evening.

Desmond Chidgey was in his back garden in Heol Berry, Gwaelod-Y-Garth, getting his washing in off the line. As he was looking up to take off the pegs he spotted an object in the sky, which had a bronze-coloured fuselage. Thinking it was a plane at first, he wondered what airline it could be to have an aircraft that colour. It was bright and he thought the sun was reflecting off the aircraft, which was to the NNE of his position and at a great height. There was no vapour trail. As he stood there in his garden watching the object, he then realised that it was not moving.

He continued watching it for five minutes, but still it didn't move. Although the sky was clear, the object was sometimes obscured by a grey haze. When the haze cleared, it was still there in the same position. Desmond left the garden to go into the house and up to his bedroom to fetch a pair of 10x50 binoculars. He returned to the garden to watch the 'aircraft' through his binoculars. Now viewing the object better, what at first he'd thought was the sun reflecting off the metallic fuselage turned out to be five lights equidistantly spaced out in a circle.

"It was like they were L.E.D. bulbs in a single light bulb."

The five lights were arranged in a pentagon shape,with each light at a point of the pentagon. After a further five minutes the lights changed the shape of their formation.

"It was much too far away to hear anything, there was no vapour trail and no other aircraft were anywhere else to be heard or seen."

The lights were now only three in number and were arranged in a straight vertical line, equidistantly spaced. The lights then lazily moved off in a north or NNE direction at an indeterminate height.

Total duration of sighting: approximately ten minutes.

Desmond telephoned Cardiff Airport ATC tower and asked if there was any traffic north to north-east of Cardiff. They transferred him to the 'basement', ie: radar. He repeated his question and the conversation went like this:

Desmond: Any traffic north of Cardiff at height?

Radar: Hang on, I've just come in. Not that I am aware of.

Desmond: I'm not surprised.

Desmond had thoughts later about what the object could have been and went through a list of possible explanations.

Space station? - seen it before, can identify it and it moves quickly and can only be seen at night, usually west to east. Helicopter? - not at that height, would be seen on radar, probably in radio traffic with Rhoose ATC, would not be stationary for that long and would not change from 5 circular lights to 3 vertical lights.

Fixed wing aircraft? - only ones that can hover are the V22 Osprey, Harrier or the new F35. Unlikely to be flying on a Saturday and at height in the evening. RAF/USAF? - the forces don't fly at the weekend! Hallucination? - not after being a customs man for 41 years!

After also discounting police helicopter and air ambulance, Desmond's last possible explanation: "The upstairs boys!"

Source: SUFON Files: reported by witness 19 May 2018.

Location on map is location of witness.