United Kingdom - Ireland

Sep. 09, 1967 - The Flying Saucer Riddle Is Solved: A 21 year old student admitted last night that he led the great flying saucer hoax that baffled experts yesterday. Chris Southall said he and 13 other students of Farnborough Technical College, Hampshire, organised the hoax as a rag stunt. The glass-fibre flying saucers, each weighing half a hundred weight and giving off odd sounds, were planted at 30-mile intervals in a straight line across southern England. They were found at Clevedon in Somerset, Chippenham in Wiltshire, Newbury and Windsor in Berkshire, and Bromley and the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. All the objects were rapidly taken into police custody and assorted experts were called in. They were baffled. One of the objects was blown apart by the Army. Another was chiselled open by an engineer. Inside both were found an evil-smelling liquid and a battery-operated bleeping device. Than police knew they were looking for a hoaxer. And last night the students owned up. Photo shows P.C. Derek Marrable listening-in to the Thing - at Bromley, yesterday

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Admitted Apart Baffled Berkshire Blown Bromley Chippenham Chiselled Clevedon Custody Experts Farnborough Glass-fibre Hoax Hoaxer Intervals Knew Liquid Newbury Organised Planted Rapidly Riddle Saucer Saucers Sheppey Solved Sounds Southall Weighing

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