Ron Halliday, who revealed his top ten Scottish UFO events to STV News earlier this year, said witnesses had come forward and reported three sightings to him since July.
On July 28, a middle aged woman in the Edinburgh suburb of Currie was looking towards the Pentland Hills at around 11.50pm when she saw a dazzling light. The woman had a pair of binoculars with her, so she managed to see a round-shaped object with markings on the side. As she watched it, the object - which was pale yellow - seemed to change shape.
Then, at around 9.15pm on August 30, the same woman saw a similar light in the same area of Currie. Once again, it was pale yellow. The woman was convinced the object was not a plane.
The third sighting came on September 26. A man and a woman saw an unexplained orange ball travelling at speed across the Slateford area of Edinburgh. The object, which was seen at about 10pm, was described by the man as looking "like a small sun".
He said it was noiseless and definitely not a helicopter or plane. The witness also recorded seeing a bright flare coming out at one end of the ‘craft’.
Ron says having three sightings around the Pentlands in the space of three months is quite unusual. As UFO researchers will know, these latest events happened only a few miles away from two of the most famous unexplained incidents in Scottish history.
On November 9, 1979, forestry worker Bob Taylor discovered a large circular craft in front of him in an area of woodland known as Dechmont Law near Livingston.
As he approached it, two objects which looked like naval mines dropped from the larger craft. The ‘balls’ rolled towards Mr Taylor and attached themselves to his trousers. They started to drag him towards the now hovering UFO. Mr Taylor then became aware of an acrid smell which made him choke.
The next thing he remembers is waking up, face down, on the ground. His legs were aching and a dishevelled Mr Taylor abandoned his truck and walked a mile home. His trousers were cut and his legs were bruised.
Police launched an investigation and detectives found several ladder-shaped impressions in the area, while evidence on the ground concurred with Mr Taylor’s explanation that the mine-like devices had approached him and dragged him towards the craft. Police could not solve the mystery and the file remains open.
Abduction
The other incident was on the A70, on the outskirts of the Pentland Hills. This was the scene of the apparent abduction of Gary Wood and Colin Wright on the in August 1992.
Mr Wood and Mr Wright were delivering a satellite TV system to a friend in Tarbrax. They travelled on the desolate road when Mr Wright noticed a very large UFO flying about 20 feet above the road.
Mr Wood, who was driving, accelerated and as their car passed underneath the craft the pair - in Mr Wood’s words - experienced a "void of blackness". What seemed like moments later, they were on the same road as if nothing had happened.
When they got to their friend’s house, they realised their journey - which should have only taken them 30 minutes - had inexplicably taken them two hours and 45 minutes. In an effort to discover what had happened to them, the pair went under hypnosis.
It revealed they had been abducted by small grey extraterrestrials while a tall, skeletal being communicated with them through telepathy. A film is now in production to tell the story of the A70 incident.
Commenting on the latest sightings, Ron told STV News: "Edinburgh has a long history as a UFO hot spot. The latest sightings, which have occurred in the last few months covering the area from the Pentland Hills to central parts of the city, suggest that UFO reports are on the increase.
"The witnesses are sure that they saw something that could not be easily explained away. In one case the witness watched the object through binoculars and believes that what she saw was a solid object which had markings on it.
"Investigations are under way to see evaluate the sightings, but they do appear to be incidents that are difficult to explain away."
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5. The Slogett family
The Slogett family case in 1992 is recognised as one of the incidents which sparked the widespread interest into the UFO hot spot of Bonnybridge.
At around 7pm on a March evening, the family were walking towards Bonnybridge when they saw a circle of light. The light appeared to land in a nearby field. The family continued their journey but were soon stopped by a football-sized blue light hovering above the road ahead.
Isabella Slogett was later reported to have said: "My daughter Carole and I saw a UFO land right in front of us. A door opened and there was a howl-like sound. I screamed and ran off terrified."
4. Andrew Swan and the electrical storm
Andrew Swan, a cable-layer with Scottish Power, was intrigued by an electrical storm on July 30, 1994. He drove to Armadale Academy in West Lothian - only a few minutes from his home - to get a better look over the school playing fields.
There, he encountered a large UFO behind a row of trees. He went round to take a closer look armed with a spotlight from his car. When he tried to shine the light on the object, the bulb immediately exploded. The UFO flew off "at breathtaking speed" a few moments later.
3. The A70 abduction
One UFO incident which has received a great deal of media attention is the apparent abduction of Gary Wood and Colin Wright on the A70 in August 1992.
Mr Wood and Mr Wright were delivering a satellite TV system to a friend in Tarbrax. They travelled on the desolate road when Mr Wright noticed a very large UFO flying about 20 feet above the road.
Mr Wood, who was driving, accelerated and as their car passed underneath the craft the pair - in Mr Wood’s words - experienced a "void of blackness". What seemed like moments later, they were on the same road as if nothing had happened.
When they got to their friend’s house, they realised their journey - which should have only taken them 30 minutes - had inexplicably taken them two hours and 45 minutes. In an effort to discover what had happened to them, the pair went under hypnosis. It revealed they had been abducted by small grey extraterrestrials while a tall, skeletal being communicated with them through telepathy.
Last year, during an episode of The Hour, it emerged a film about the A70 incident is currently in production. It is expected to be released next year.
2. Pat Macleod
Portabello woman Pat Macleod is absolutely convinced she saw a large UFO as she drove to the health centre one morning in October, 1992. The policeman’s wife described seeing a bright light flashing in the sky before the object landed in open ground called Niddrie Burn.
Ms Macleod said the object looked like the planet Saturn. However, the incident was not spotted by anyone else even though Niddrie Burn is easily seen from many houses. Nevertheless, there were other unusual sightings on the day in the area and the case featured in television programmes about UFOs.
So, what is UFO expert Ron Halliday’s most baffling UFO incident in Scottish history?
1. Bob Taylor and the Dechmont Law abduction
It will come as no surprise to those interested in UFOs that the Dechmont Law incident was voted by Ron Halliday as Scotland’s weirdest. On November 9, 1979, forestry worker Bob Taylor was shocked to discover a large circular craft in front of him in an area of woodland known as Dechmont Law near Livingston.
As he approached it, two objects which looked like naval mines from World War Two seemed to drop from the larger craft. The ‘balls’ rolled towards Mr Taylor and attached themselves to his trousers. They started to drag him towards the now hovering UFO. Mr Taylor then became aware of an acrid smell which made him choke.
The next thing he remembers is waking up, face down, on the ground. His legs were aching and a dishevelled Mr Taylor abandoned his truck and walked a mile home. His trousers were cut and his legs were bruised.
Police launched an investigation and detectives found several ladder-shaped impressions in the area, while evidence on the ground concurred with Mr Taylor’s explanation that the mine-like devices had approached him and dragged him towards the craft.
Police could not solve the mystery and the file remains open.
