This article was published in the daily newspaper Shepton Mallet Journal, England, on August 13, 2003.
A group of Shepton Mallet residents have said they are convinced they may have seen a UFO flying over the town of Saturday evening [Aug 9]. Dozens of people saw a strange light, without any sound at all, make its way in an easterly direction over the town at around 9pm.
Among those who saw it were a group of Westway Lane residents and one of them, Taffy Stride, spoke to this newspaper earlier this week.
He said: "The thing was dome shaped and seemed to have a bright white flame at the bottom, but there was no sound at all."
"We were sitting in the garden at the time and saw it come down to what seemed to be a few feet above the house."
"It was a clear night and after a while, the thing made its way away from the town towards Doulting. The whole thing lasted about 20 minutes."
"I had never seen anything like it and I have spoken to several people since who have said exactly the same." Town clerk Graham Brown also saw something in the sky that night, but he could pinpoint what it was.
He said: "The international space station was due to fly over Shepton Mallet at around 09:30 pm on Saturday night.
"It went over at a very high altitude and in the same direction, towards Doulting, but it does seem strange that several residents have seen something else at around the same time."
