Brecon Beacon UFO
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War of the Welsh ... Dr Griffey's snap of UFO

A baffled university don who spotted a UFO over the Brecon Beacons last night said: "There is no logical explanation."

Dr Simon Griffey saw lights loom over a mountain village - before they disappeared.

His close encounter is the third reported in the space of just five days, following sightings by the Army and police.



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Sightings ... where the UFOs have been spotted this month

Simon, a doctor of psychology at Cardiff University, said: "I've had loads of theories proposed by friends and neighbours but none of them add up."

Dr Griffey, 50, and his son Jack, 23, were driving near Llangynidr Mountain in the Brecon Beacons, Powys, when they spotted lights over Talybont-on-Usk.

He said: "There was no noise whatsoever, it was a bit eerie. I've driven over this mountain for 17 years and have never seen anything like it.

"There were seven lights and having read the description from the soldiers in Shropshire, there are some similarities. They were the same sort of colour and the same spherical shape that they reported.

"I know I wasn't seeing things because Jack saw exactly the same as I did - and two other cars pulled over to look."

Sceptics have suggested the sightings could be huge man-made lanterns floating into the sky.

But the boffin, of Llangynidr, said: "It was too big. It was way above the horizon and stayed there for 15 minutes. It was a bit smaller than a full moon - quite big and high up."

Jack recorded the phenomenon on his mobile phone - but when they examined the pictures later, they found only three of the seven lights showed up.

Dr Griffey said: "The police helicopter crew said they failed to record the sighting on their equipment.

"If it had been a natural phenomenon you surely would have been able to photograph all of it. I'd like someone to explain - because I have no idea what to make of it."

He added: "I think it's plausible that there could be life on other planets."

The close encounter at 11.40pm on Thursday, June 12 came at a place which lies almost directly between the Tern Hill barracks and St Athan - scenes of sightings days earlier.

The Sun told on Tuesday how three soldiers saw 13 UFOs spinning at 11pm on Saturday, June 7.

Just over 90 minutes later and 80 miles away the crew of the South Wales police chopper reported a UFO as it tried to land at St Athan.

Yesterday we revealed three women's claims they were abducted by aliens on the A5 - also in Shrops - in 1981. Expert Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the MoD, wants an official inquiry into the sightings.

The BBC yesterday denied that a UFO spotted in South Wales was a prop from Dr Who, filmed in Cardiff. It said: "The show was not in production at the time."