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Police patrol cars and coastguards werer called out to track down "balls of fire" that frightened welsh coastal villages last night.

The patrol cars were were sent in answer to appeals from families who telephoned Glamorgan Constabulary headquaters at Bridgend

Coastguards were alertedto help in the search

The balls of fire vivid red lit up sand dunes and farms at Kenfig near Port Talbot.

Mr Dean Rees of Kenfig farm told me two great flashes seemed to come from the direction of Port Talbot as if they had been fired from the Abbey Steelworks, the sky glowed as the passed overhead in the direction of Cornelly. I have never seen anything so brilliantly red

A16 year old girl and a quarry workman reported seeingthree balls of fire , scores of other people said they saw mysterious lights at the same time .

Coastguards who scoured the beaches found nothing, patrol cars were returned from a street by street search of villages with nothing to report.

The coastguards discounted the possibility that the lights were flares from the sea. Police headquarters said we have no definate theories about the fireballs , nobody seems to know what they are.

The RAF meteorlogical offices at Rhoose and Pembroke Dock said they had recieved no reports on the flashes, neither could they offer any explanation