The mystery surrounding the sighting of a ‘plane in flames’ over Brean appears to be over after a Burnham-On-Sea.com reader sent us this photograph of the burning object and is confident it was a Chinese lantern.

Burnham-On-Sea.com reported last week how Sharon Witcombe of Warren Road had spotted what she thought was an “aircraft engulfed in a fireball” as she walked home at around 5.15pm on October 28th. She was so concerned that she drove away from the village in case the plane came down.

However, photographer Tim Allbutt, who was in the village at the same time, took the photo above of the burning object and he’s confident it was a Chinese Lantern.

Tim, pictured right, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We were at Warren Farm’s shop, just getting back into the car, looking towards Brean Down when this bright object came into view.”

“I took a couple of photos and also viewed it through my binoculars. It was clearly a Chinese Lantern.”

Several other eyewitnesses who saw the object alight have contacted Burnham-On-Sea.com about the sighting.

One reader emailed us to say: “I saw it. It must have been a plane taking off with lights shining through light cloud – it was very bright.”

Another reader emailed us: “My mum saw something similar in Highbridge about ten days before – it wasn’t a plane, but was a very bright orange flame climbing in the sky.”

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it had received no reports of any planes in difficulty or missing last Wednesday.

[via: burnham-on-sea.com]

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