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A close encounter of the M27 kind?

5:23am Friday 15th February 2008

comment Comments (40)   Have your say »

By Maheesha Kottegoda »

THIS is the bizarre UFO sighting which stunned a Southampton family when it loomed above the motorway.

The Daily Echo has recreated above what they say appeared before them on the M27 near the city. The family of four was travelling west on the motorway near junction 3 when the strange shape came into view. They then followed it on the A31 before it disappeared.

The family wishes to remain anonymous for fear of being ridiculed, but the mother said: "This large dark object was becoming more visible. It appeared to have a triangular shape to it but with our movement and the object's movement it was hard to say a shape for sure."

Her partner, and two children aged eight and 12, all saw the object on Saturday at 6.20pm and described it as triangular from one direction and oval from another with no distinct outline. The 30-year-old said: "It could have been the size of a jumbo jet but it was not moving fast, more hovering. As we went past Rownhams we could see it to our left. I did not feel scared.

"You try to put it down to rational things. It could have been a cloud but when we saw a helicopter beaming its lights down we knew it was something strange. She said: "It was unmissable and with the amount of traffic on the road I refuse to believe thousands of people on the road did not see it. I don't want people to think I am a raving lunatic.

"We saw what we are certain to be a helicopter dwarfed by this large object. The helicopter was quite a bit higher up than the UFO and it was aiming its lights down towards the object.


Your Say YourEcho

Adrian Smith, says...
6:20am Fri 15 Feb 08

"described it as triangular from one direction and oval from another with no distinct outline"

And the Echo's "photoshopped" image is neither.

Close encounters of the mind, says...
7:28am Fri 15 Feb 08

So the helicopter was above it. Shame the tow line was not spotted! sounds like a prank to me. Or maybe.. just maybe it was aliens coming to Southampton to build our long awaited ice rink.

annabelle, says...
8:03am Fri 15 Feb 08

Looks like a dorito to me but what flavour is it?

Raving loony~~~~~nooooo

Cynic, Southampton says...
8:42am Fri 15 Feb 08

Perhaps it was our City Councillors going home to their own planet at the end of another hard day.

up up and, away says...
9:23am Fri 15 Feb 08

looks like the Michelin Man over inflated his tyers >.<

flight of fantasy, in the clouds says...
9:27am Fri 15 Feb 08

Its a two stringed stunt kite....U,F,O,...L,M
,F,A,O.

Bob, Southampton says...
9:32am Fri 15 Feb 08

Perhaps thats whos been installing all the Specs cameras. Or maybe there going to help with the widening. Using Alien technology could get it finished alot cheaper and in less than 18 months. Expect too see 4 lanes and no more traffic jams Monday morning

Shazza, says...
9:32am Fri 15 Feb 08

Probably a rogue airborne hubcap, after a crash between a lorry and a motorcycle (both driven by women incidentally).

peter, southampton says...
9:36am Fri 15 Feb 08

The only people that know if its real or not are the people telling this story. Keep an open mind, afterall who are we to judge ?, we were not there. Some of the comments are funny though.

JB Soton, Gosport says...
9:47am Fri 15 Feb 08

Thats got to be the biggest Bat i have ever seen !

paper chase owner, utensil drawer says...
9:50am Fri 15 Feb 08

right-on for the best origamy competition..

Neil armstrong, Sea of Tranquility says...
10:06am Fri 15 Feb 08

It was Matt Le Tiss hang gliding

Forum administrator, says...
10:20am Fri 15 Feb 08

Cynic wrote:
Perhaps it was our City Councillors going home to their own planet at the end of another hard day.
Post of the day (and it's only 10:20am!)

lymocherry, says...
10:45am Fri 15 Feb 08

annabelle wrote:
Looks like a dorito to me but what flavour is it? Raving loony~~~~~nooooo
I saw a monster munchie last week!!! then 6 hula hoops went flying past!!


JR, Soton says...
11:36am Fri 15 Feb 08

Must be due to the UFO parking now available at Rownhams Services!

Christoff, says...
12:15pm Fri 15 Feb 08

looks like a uni grad celebrating by throwing their mortar board up in the air

*_*, Take me to your leader says...
12:59pm Fri 15 Feb 08

They came from Uranus

bemused onlooker, Southampton says...
3:25pm Fri 15 Feb 08

*_* wrote:
They came from Uranus
Looking for the "WOW" factor ?

Test Resident, Southampton Outsider says...
3:40pm Fri 15 Feb 08

Has anyone noted the reporter's name.
This might explain the Echos' frequent difficulties with English Grammar.

Bertie, Totton in a galaxy far, far away says...
4:21pm Fri 15 Feb 08

Microlite with a helicopter (possibly from the police or military) following it as in finding out what prat would be out in a microlite in the dark? Then again the pilot may have been pre-empting the forthcoming roadworks into Southampton and having a test flight?

triquetra, says...
5:37pm Fri 15 Feb 08

is it so hard to believe ?? if you look into history they have been visiting our planet for thousands of years and they are comming back look into the sumarian people the first civilisation they lived with alien beings and they beings came from planet X if you really want to know the truth you will find it

Mulder and/or Scully, says...
6:06pm Fri 15 Feb 08

triquetra wrote:
is it so hard to believe ?? if you look into history they have been visiting our planet for thousands of years and they are comming back look into the sumarian people the first civilisation they lived with alien beings and they beings came from planet X if you really want to know the truth you will find it
Quite, the truth is out there, after all...

Captain Chaos, Bluestar Headquaters says...
6:30pm Fri 15 Feb 08

Its only the bluestar bus services dissapearing into outer space.

Mothman, Lyndhurst says...
9:37pm Fri 15 Feb 08

It was me!

King Mush, Woolston says...
11:28pm Fri 15 Feb 08

Test Resident wrote:
Has anyone noted the reporter\'s name. This might explain the Echos\' frequent difficulties with English Grammar.
This could be deemed a slightly racist comment?

The reporter's name is of Asian origin and I think you'll find that many of 'these people' speak a hell of a lot more languages and dialects that Testes Resident could ever dream of. That takes brains and a good education - sadly lacking in some quarters over here

Real Earthling, Grinnell Iowa says...
2:10am Sat 16 Feb 08

Councillors huh! Theres a lot more than just councillors in Southampton not from this planet - Dont be surprised if you see a lot more as they all go home for Easter

T, Reality says...
2:48am Sat 16 Feb 08

flight of fantasy wrote:
Its a two stringed stunt kite....U,F,O,...L,M ,F,A,O.
A round of applause for this one, please. They failed, somehow, to make it to the SECOND SENTENCE. Bravo, dipshit. And no. Its not a kite. Its a picture with a fake shape, representing what a family was ashamed to admit they saw because people are so ignorant. They felt strong enough about their experience to share it nonetheless. If everybody who mocked this story took one hour to study the depth of this phenomenon, they'd shut their ill-informed mouths. The evidence is overwhelming if you're willing to look into it.

Robin, Gotham says...
8:00am Sat 16 Feb 08

Nah,nah,nah,nah,nah,
nah,
nah,nah,......BATMAN
!!!

Test Resident, Southampton Outsider says...
10:57am Sat 16 Feb 08

King Mush wrote:
Test Resident wrote: Has anyone noted the reporter\'s name. This might explain the Echos\' frequent difficulties with English Grammar.
This could be deemed a slightly racist comment? The reporter's name is of Asian origin and I think you'll find that many of 'these people' speak a hell of a lot more languages and dialects that Testes Resident could ever dream of. That takes brains and a good education - sadly lacking in some quarters over here
Sorry to disappoint you Kingmush but Asian reference was not intended. The name of the reporter just seemed apt in the context of the news item, but you are aware of that. I suspect that you like fanning possible smouldering embers into raging infernos of argument in order to brighten up an otherwise dull life. However that is excusable considering that you live in Woolston.

jake leek, The Ridgway says...
11:20am Sat 16 Feb 08

T, Reality you are spot on and thanks for posting.

I have seen UFOs, closest I ever got was Hartlebury common. october 1969 lots of police about because it had landed It was cordoned off, the police let me through because I was wearing my lucky hat, I walked up to this shiny alien with big eyes and thanked him very much for stopping by.

anyomous, bursledon-near m27 says...
12:18pm Sat 16 Feb 08

Hello me and my freinds aged 11-12 saw the same object on a saturday. We took phots with our mobile phones and have tried to send them to various websites familiar with the subject. Please write back to me with your email so I can send you the photos. We tried different ways of making the photo clearer using the program photoshop, sharpening and contrasting it but had no success. Thanks
Anyomous.

Family who saw this, southampton says...
3:19pm Sat 16 Feb 08

Hello, anonymous from Bursledon. Can you please tell me which websites you uploaded the pictures onto? and I can have a look at them from there.
Thanks

Drabik, Southampton says...
12:24pm Mon 18 Feb 08

Why are people so blind to think that there might be UFO's? To think that out of all the areas of the universe, an 'alien' would come to Earth for a flyby mission.

The chances of intelligence are very slim, also. For example, there are millions of organisms on this planet and only one is intelligent enough to design machines to go into space, so why should another planet also have an organism capable of doing so?

Also, if aliens are real (which I myself do not believe), then surely the vast technology of astronomers would have spotted it. Certainly Southampton airport would have noticed an unidentified flying object approaching the nearby area.

Thanks, Drabik

Rachel, Southampton says...
4:12pm Mon 18 Feb 08

Drabik, you are right people are blind. Blind to think humans are the only intelligent life source in the universe.
The fact is we just don't know what's out there???? Just as we cannot say for certain Aliens do exist we cannot say for sure that they don't.
If you do your research you will find information on numerous reports of pilots seeing unidentified objects. Airports picking up objects on radar, that were not known to be out there.
I personally think most people are too afraid to allow themselves to beleive in other life forms that could possibly be more intelligent than ourselves.
I think you'll find too our goverment knows far more than they are willing to let on. How inferior this could make them! Everyone knows the goverment twist things to justify their actions.
In the bible the 3 wise men followed a bright star, was this really a bright star? or a ufo?. What about the Virgin Mary, imaculate conception or artificial insemination? Who really knows?

jake leek, The Ridgway says...
10:26pm Mon 18 Feb 08

http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=YdyQu5Zx8
xw&feature=related

Spot on Rachel you are clever ,
take a look Drabik please! now what you think i seen this one also 3miles from stonehenge 2001 december 2nd also 2days later again Im a vagabond i live under the stars,I log my sightings.

jake leek, The Ridgway says...
10:39pm Mon 18 Feb 08

http://www.youtube.c

om/watch?v=YdyQu5Zx8

xw&feature=related

toniwestie, Hythe says...
7:24am Tue 19 Feb 08

On that same Saturday night my husband was out with our dogs when he saw something, very low and a bright amber colour, like a jet engine! He shouted to me to come and look and it was like an aircraft, but no noise and very low, moving slowly, it was a clear night sky and very still. Some people I have spoken to are saying it could be a satellite? Who knows.....

Elaine, Canada says...
4:19am Sat 23 Feb 08

People who reply to these sightings with ignorant remarks are just that, ignorant. They are afraid of the truth, so they say stupid things. We will all know the facts one day soon, then we'll be able to say to you, I told you so.

Lee Broadstock, Tipton,UK says...
10:20am Mon 25 Feb 08

Its a KITE !!!

jay, says...
12:05am Thu 28 Feb 08

Ignorant people that don't investigate around here.



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