RENDLESHAM - UFO HOAX

For over twenty years the story of the Rendlesham Forest UFOs in Suffolk has gathered momentum. But the incident has never been properly explained, until now…

The alleged UFO sighting has become one of the world's most talked about extra-terrestrial encounters.

Now, Inside Out has investigated the case and can reveal exclusive details that may change opinion.

Not only can we tell you that most of it was a hoax but also how it was done.

Sighting

During the nights of December 26 and 27 1980, American servicemen stationed at RAF Woodbridge and Bentwaters in Suffolk reported mysterious lights in nearby Rendlesham Forest.

A team of airmen, including Deputy Base Commander Lieutenant Colonel Halt, left the base to investigate. Halt gave a running commentary into a dictaphone.

The men chased a varied assortment of lights, described as 'weird phenomena.'

They claimed that they had encountered an alien craft, which they established a landing site for.

Following the incident, the men filed top secret witness reports, which were strictly classified.

However, copies of the tape-recording were leaked and the incident attracted attention.

Confession

One interesting utterance that a puzzled Halt gives on the tape recording is, "The red, white and blue lights of the UFO are still hovering over Woodbridge."

But former USAF Security Policemen, Kevin Conde, has exclusively revealed that these lights were the result of a practical joke he played on the gullible airman.

Conde says, "I drove my patrol car out of sight from the gatehouse, turned on the red and blue emergency lights and pointed white flashlights through the mist into the air."

"The bottom line is that, that was not a UFO it was a 1979 Plymouth Volare!" explains a bemused Conde.

Witness reports

James Easton, a writer specialising in UFO phenomena, recently stumbled across the eyewitness reports, hidden in a released US government file.

Easton says that they make breathtaking reading. Each individual account conflicts with the other. But most damning of all is the admission that the men knew they were 'chasing lighthouse beams' from the Orford Ness lighthouse.

One of Halt's men says he touched an alien craft. Another states nothing happened at all.

Halt maintains a light out at sea is a UFO. Easton says he has identified that light as coming from the Shipwash Buoy, which is now out of service.

Judgement questioned
By the end of 1980, the Suffolk bases were on high alert as US relations with soviet Russia worsened.

Conde says, "If they're out in the forest seeing red and blue pulsing lights and I'm back here doing this prank with red and blue pulsing lights, what else do they think they're seeing?"

"You have to call into question the judgement of military officers, in charge of a front line base in the Cold War, who can't distinguish a UFO from a bank of police car lights."

Believers

Despite these fresh revelations, ufologists maintain that there is a high level cover-up. Some believe that the witness reports are false.

Brenda Butler still believes that the phenomenon was true. She was the first person to investigate the case.

"Rendlesham is a very magical place," says Brenda. "It's like a doorway opening to another dimension. We've seen ghostly things and mists"

One thing is certain, Conde's confession 23 years on completely turns the alleged Rendlesham UFO encounter on its head.