Magellan Close, high on a ridge in Barry, enjoys panoramic views of the Bristol Channel with unbroken views of Steep Holm and Brean Down – and it was from this vantage point that a local man saw what he believes was a UFO.
Mr Raymond Stephens told The GEM: “It was faster than anything I’ve ever seen in my life, and definitely not an aircraft.”
Mr Stephens (75) saw the mystery sphere of light at just after midnight on June 9. His sighting follows hard on the heels of the report of a flying object spotted by a police helicopter in the Vale on June 8.
Mr Stephens, a retired tiler and slater, said: “I used to fish in the channel and like to keep an eye on it because there are a lot of interesting sights.
“I saw it from my bedroom window – it was a clear night with no rain.
“It was a roundish sphere, very bright and going at a hell of a lick from east to west.
“It lasted for about three seconds and disappeared over the Bristol Channel in line with the Dow Corning towers.”
Mr Stephens has an impressive library of books on aircraft, but is adamant that his sighting was something entirely different.
“It was faster than anything I’ve ever seen in the sky before – faster than a fighter aircraft.”
Mr Stephens is well used to seeing the lights of passenger aircraft making their way across the Bristol Channel as they head for Rhoose, but he points out the spherical object he saw was travelling in the opposite direction and far too fast to be a plane.
“Unless St Athan is building something secret, I don’t know what it was,” added Mr Stephens.
“If someone else saw it I’d certainly like to hear from them.”
(Original headline: UFO sighting in skies above Barry )
