This article was published in the daily newspaper Burnley Today, U-K., 12 September 2003.
IT was not a bird, it was not a plane and it probably was not a UFO.
The silver cigar-shaped object seen in the sky over Bacup Road could have been one of Mr Dale Boltons novel aircraft.
Mr Bolton, who often flies his aircrafts with members of the Ribble Valley Model Soaring Association, prides himself on flying some of the most unusual creations one of which matches the description given by part-time taxi driver Mr Steve Haworth and his passenger.
He told the Burnley Express that he saw a cigar-shaped object with a small pulsating light in the middle in the sky over Bacup Road.
Mr Haworth, of Burton Street, spotted the object, which changed shape and went backwards and forwards in a straight line before vanishing, at 7-45 a.m. on Saturday, August 30th.
One resident, who lives in the Bacup Road area, claimed that she saw it and believed that it was a grey hot air balloon with a yellow dot in the middle.
But Mr Simon Hardman, chairman of the soaring association, says that these unidentified flying objects belong to members, who are often out flying their machines early in the morning.
He said that Mr Bolton often uses different technology to put together his gliders, which fly from side to side on the wind. One of his creations is a long silver craft and another is shaped like a flying saucer with a yellow dot in the middle.
The model gliding club was established in 1972 and has members across East Lancashire.
