Incident in Rendlesham Forest - December 1980

This document collection comprises internal correspondence and records from the Suffolk Constabulary regarding a reported UFO sighting near RAF Woodbridge on December 26, 1980. The initial incident report, logged at 4:00 a.m., details a call from RAF Bentwaters reporting 'unusual lights in the sky' near the East Gate of RAF Woodbridge. Police officers were dispatched to investigate. Subsequent checks with Air Traffic Control at West Drayton yielded no record of aircraft in the area, and the only lights identified were those from the Orford Light House. A follow-up report at 10:30 a.m. on the same day noted that police found three marks in the ground at the site, which were described as having no set pattern and no depth; the attending officer, PC Brian Cresswell, suggested they could have been made by an animal. Correspondence from 1983 and 1988 reiterates that the police found no evidence to substantiate the presence of an unidentified flying object. A 1999 letter from an Inspector in the Operations (Planning) department provides a retrospective view, noting that the officers involved were 'unimpressed' with the event and that the story had been 'substantially embellished' over the years. The document also references a book titled 'Skycrash' by Brenda Butler, Dot Street, and Jenny Randles, which covers the incident. The final document is a 2001 facsimile transmission from the Suffolk Constabulary to the Home Office, confirming that due to the passage of time and the retirement of the involved officers, no further files could be located.