Appearance / Description of Object(s)

The objects were both bright and flame orange. At least one of them had lights in a Rhombus pattern that may or may not have marked the limits of the object. I

Size of Object(s)

would estimate the size (based on apparent distance) as being significantly larger than a light plane such a a Cessna but smaller than a commercial passenger jet.

Distance to Object(s) & Altitude

I would estimate the objects as being at around 2000-3000 feet and between 3 and 6 miles distant.

Description of Area / Surroundings

The area is rural. There are some commercial airports but I didn't see any commercial traffic during my observation. Light aircraft are common in the region but do not typically fly after dark. There are infantry and mechanised infantry bases within 25 miles but I am not aware of any closer facilities. The most important defence base in the area is the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston. This is perhaps 15-20 miles from the area of the sighting. Aircraft are not flown from this facility.

Full Description & Details

I don't generally talk about this because I assume that people with think that I am lying or insane. I will attempt to make this report as factual as possible with no interpretation.

It was a Tuesday night and I was attending a horse riding lesson as usual. The Wellington riding school is off the A33, between Reading and Basingstoke. I believe that it is just within the Hampshire boundary. Wellington is just a small village and the surroundings are very rural with a low population density. It was a cold, clear night.

I parked the car and hurried the to the office because I was running late. I saw a flame coloured light in the sky and thought it strange. It was already fairly dark by then - it was perhaps 10 minutes to 7 by then.

I had my riding lesson in the indoor school. The lesson would always last about an hour with another 20 minutes or so taken up by stabling the horses and storing the tack. After I had stored the tack, I went to the licensed bar that was attached to the administration building. This was normal practice after a lesson since all the students knew each other and we would discuss our progress with the tutor. I talked with my fellow students and drank a pint of beer. I had to drive so I didn't drink more than one. I had seen the light in approximately the same position on my way to the bar. It was relatively low in the sky and looked to be below the height of normal commercial aircraft but similar in altitude to light planes. I can not say if the light was there during the lesson because I was indoors but it appeared to be in the same position as I had noted before.

When I finished my drink, I went outside and looked at the light again. It appeared to be completely stationary and I was struck by the unusual colour - it was an orange colour that I can only describe as flamelike although the light was steady and did not vary more than would be normal for a light seen at some distance in still air. The object was larger than a point but did not extend over a large visual angle. It did not seem to move at all. There was no sound that I could hear from the object and there was little background noise in the environment.

I stood watching the light for a considerable time. I wasn't wearing my watch (because I had been horse riding) but I stood long enough to become very cold indeed. I would estimate that I stood outside for around 40 minutes without moving. The object remained in view and stationary during this time. With no noise or other sign, a second object of the same description moved from the horizon (north) to hover apparently next to the first object although there was clear seperation between them. The transit from the horizon to the approximate centre of the viewable area took between 20 and 30 seconds. The apparent reduction in speed when the second object reach the first was rapid but smooth. The objects hung together for perhaps 60 seconds. They appeared to be at roughly the same level with the newcomer perhaps slightly lower in altitude.

Both objects moved off together, heading north once more. There was no apparent increase or decrease in brightness or size which would suggest that there was little east/west component in their movement. As the first object accelerated away, I was able to see that it was apparently made of multiple lights in a Rhombus with the long side roughly parallel to the ground. There was a light in the centre of the cluster that was of equal brightness with the lights on the points of the Rhombus. I do not know if the lights marked the boundaries of the object. The objects reached the northern horizon in around 20-30 seconds. Again, there was no sound observable.

The period between first seeing the object and last seeing the object must have been in the order of 2 hours and 40 minutes since it was around 10 pm when I returned to my car.

I have only once seen anything that seemed similar and that was film taken of a UFO sighting at a Russian air base. The lights moved in a different pattern but showed both the unusual colour (the Russian witnesses also described them as flame coloured) and rapid changes of speed. It was not possible to see the object shapes in the video.

Can sighting be explained as any conventional man-made or natural object?

The objects were quite unlike any natural object that I have seen. I am familiar with most types of man made flying object with experience of remote controlled models and hundreds of hours of simulator experience. I have flown a light plane twice. The movement patterns and appearance of these object were not at all similar to anything that I have seen before or since.

Witness Background

I have a background in information technology with both hardware and software experience. I have a Batchelor's degree (honours) in Computing science. I have also worked as a writer. I am generally regarded as being of above average intelligence and mentally stable.

Views on UFOs, before and after sighting

I believe that UFOs are just that - Unidentified Flying Objects. I don't know what the objects that I saw were. I do not know if there is life on other planets though it seems likely given the probabilities. I do not have a view on the origin of UFOs. My opinions were not changed by the sighting.

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