A sketch drawn by an airman involved in the Rendlesham mystery

RENDLESHAM: It is one of Suffolk’s greatest mysteries and has been dubbed the UK’s very own Roswell.

With the 30th anniversary of the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident rapidly approaching the time has come to shed new light on the mystery.

There are many theories about what happened close to the former USAF Bentwaters air base in the dead of night just after Christmas in 1980 – everything from aliens landing and lights from Orford lighthouse, to a mishap which was covered up. But, despite endless speculation, there has never been a definitive answer.

However a series of audio tapes of American servicemen investigating the scene of the alleged “crash site” makes for interesting listening.

The men – led by Colonel Charles Halt, who was second in command at the base – are clearly puzzled by what they find and refer to “strange” lights in the sky.

“I hear very strange sounds of farmers’ barn yard animals,” the men say. “They’re very, very active, making a lot of noise.

“Straight ahead. There it is again. Straight ahead. What is it? A strange small red light. It looks maybe half a mile further ahead. Go back to the edge of the clearing, see if we can get a look at it....the animals have gone quiet now...It is deathly calm.

“There is no doubt about it – it is a strange flashing red light ahead. I saw a yellow tinge in it too. Weird. It’s coming this way. It’s definitely coming this way. There is no doubt about it. This is weird.”

The tape continues: “It’s like an eye winking at you...it has a hollow centre, a dark centre, like the pupil of an eye looking at you winking.

“We have multiple sightings of up to five lights...They’re rather sporadic but there’s definitely something there. Some kind of phenomena. Here he comes from the south. He’s coming towards us now. There appears to be a beam coming down to the ground. This is unreal.”

n To listen to the tapes visit www.eveningstar.co.uk.

n Do you have any tales of the unexplained at Rendlesham Forest? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.