October 2008 Archives

UFOs....
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Could it be...Superman??

Well, nobody knows what they are which is why they're called unidentified flying objects.

Whatever they are the Chase has been a magnet for lights in the sky and even, some say, a UFO crash landing in 1964.

Physiotherapists across the district are always in demand as Chase folk crane their necks upwards desperate to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.

Earlier this year the MOD released previously top secret files revealing the skies over Cannock had been the subject of investigations after reports of strange lights hovering above the town.

And between 1988 and the early 90s a raft of sightings led to the period being known as the 'Staffordshire Flap'.

The most significant even during that time happened on May 16 1988. Evidence suggests two UFOs, noticed by Air Traffic Control at Birmingham Airport, descended to a height of 1000-feet.

Dozens of witnesses, including police officer, watched in awe as the two shapes moved across the sky.

After swooping and climbing manoeuvres the objects vanished in the blink of an eye.

The closest encounter for Chase folk however is shrouded in mystery.

Rumours abound of military cordons and road blocks following the crash landing of a craft on the Chase in 1964.

The object, tracked by British, Russian and US intelligence, broke into several pieces with some coming down in the woods outside of Cannock.

Locals travelling across the Chase were told to find other routes while some witnesses reported seeing a craft being loaded onto a transport truck.

Accusations of a cover up, with locals being told to forget what they had seen, followed. It seems we're no closer to the truth now than we were then.

For those unfamiliar with the area here's a quick guide to the weird and wonderful goings on in Cannock.

Bigfoot...

Few mysteries have endured for as long as our resident ape-man.

Sightings date back centuries but all are similar in their description of the elusive beast.

Tall, man-like, very hairy and with blazing red eyes.

The sightings have left some trembling with fear while others have descended on the Chase to investigate and lure the beast into the open in a bid to find concrete proof of its existence.

Sasquatch - to give the creature its Native American label - has been spotted all over the area from Castle Ring to Slitting Mill.

As yet no firm evidence has been found to support the existence of Bigfoot on the Chase.

The Chase Panther.... There's something else in the woods besides Bigfoot. At least there is if dozens of eyewitnesses are to be believed.

Sightings of large black cats on The Chase have gone through the roof giving believers and sceptics something to get their claws into.

The debate rages whether large animals released in the 70s could survive and even breed successfully on our doorstep.

Those who claim to have seen the beast are in no doubt it's real.

Described as large, black, bigger than a dog, stalking like a cat and with red eyes it sounds like a match for any deer unfortunate to be caught.

Here at the Chase Post readers have sent the mutilated remains of animals thought to have been caught by the beast.

Martin Rainer, Cannock Chase Co-ordinator for Big Cats in Britain, believes there's something out there.

He said: "I strongly believe these big cats are out there. Maybe not in the heart of the Chase, but possibly around the fringes which do not receive as much human traffic.

"We can only go on the facts. Seventy-per-cent of all reported sightings are of a black animal. These can only be one of two - a black jaguar or a black leopard. Both are known as the Black Panther.

Everybody in Cannock has heard stories of strange lights in the sky above our town, bizarre creatures roaming the Chase and spooky spirits in our favourite watering-holes. If you haven't, where have you been??

Here I'll be looking at the myths, the legends and the downright odd from across the district and beyond in a bid to get to the bottom of our most enduring mysteries.

Whether it's a big cat or a Bigfoot I'll be keeping you posted on all the weird and wonderful goings on from our little corner of Staffordshire.

If the truth is out there, we'll find it.