Posted: June 17, 2009

Date of Sighting: 13th June 2009
Time: about midnight

Witness Statement: Traveling south from Ben Nevis, driving a team doing the 3 peaks challenge, saw 9 steady lights in the distance, just above the horizon, ahead and slightly to our right. Weather was hazy high cloud with strands of widely spaced fairly low cloud. Few stars visible, but only the brightest. Lights were in a random pattern, which did not change noticeably as the lights moved towards us quite rapidly. The objects were above the lower cloud level and occasionally disappeared individually as they passed behind the clouds. As they came nearer, they took on an orangey tint and had a steady glow, with no wavering of the light and no aeroplane style flashing lights.

Initially thought it was reflection of street lights on overhead power cables, but the lights passing behind clouds discounted this. Considered they might have been hot air lanterns, but they were moving very quickly across the wind, the light was very steady (unlike those on the Halesowen lantern video) and the objects must have been hundreds of feet above ground. I live under flight paths for all the midlands airports and can guarantee to see 4 planes in the sky at any time of day or night. So I can confidently say that these were not like any plane I have ever seen. Co-driver also witnessed the lights once I shook him awake, but only 3 were visible at that time, the rest being hidden by the lower clouds. Unfortunately, the other 7 people on the minibus were asleep, so no other witnesses available. See separate report for similar single sighting further south earlier in the year. Also no camera or videocam to hand in the 40 ish seconds they were in sight.