IN a week that an Essex Police officer admitted spotting the notorious “Beast of Essex” it has now emerged one of his colleagues has seen a UFO.

James Hore

IN a week that an Essex Police officer admitted spotting the notorious “Beast of Essex” it has now emerged one of his colleagues has seen a UFO.

The incident in north Essex is included in a Ministry of Defence (MOD) report listing all the possible UFO sightings it was made aware of in the past year.

According to the incident notes, the officer saw a craft over the seaside community of Brightlingsea on New Year's Eve.

The officer, who is not named, stated the UFO was bright orange or yellow and about 1,550 to 2,000ft in the sky.

It then “moved very slowly in a half circle, then stopped over the water between Brightlingsea and East Mersea” before it “shot straight up” and disappeared very fast.

There is also another Essex incident reported over the A12.

The witness claimed there were two bright lights flying northbound, about 500 yards apart during the incident on October 11 last year.

The report states: “As they got nearer, they could only be described as two balls of fire.”

According to the MOD, there were numerous sightings in the south of the county along with incidents across the border in Suffolk, including one in Felixstowe.

Last week the EADT reported on another issue that has its fair number of cynics - the infamous Beast of Essex.

The story gained new credibility though when the infamous feline was spotted by one of the county's policemen.

The officer was on duty in Wivenhoe when he heard growling and saw a “large black cat”.

He alerted colleagues and a full-scale search was launched for the creature which ran away down the side of the police station.

No-one else has reported seeing the creature but the incident gave new credibility to the legend which has stemmed from a number of sightings of a large black cat similar to a Puma or Panther across the county.

Across the country there are regular reports of large cats - with hotspots in Scotland, Devon and Wales which believers claim to be a result of pets being released into the wild after the Dangerous Wild Animals Act was introduced in 1976.

james.hore@eadt.co.uk