Is it a UFO? Is it Ball Lightening?

On Friday, 11 August, 2000, a red light appeared in the sky. It was first thought to be a helicopter, but as it approached from the east in the night sky, it was seen that the light stood alone, attached to nothing else, and was totally silent. It slowly came closer to the islands, pulsating a bright red light, dim and light at reported regular intervals. It then went static in the sky. At this point, it was believed to be a flare. Many sightings were reported to the Coastguard. The Coastguard remained wary of the light, which had lasted too long for a flare. It had a magnitude greater than any other object in the sky, the planets and stars, and appeared below the stratocumulus cloud. After a quater-of-an-hour, the light disappeared behind the cloud, or had by now burnt out. The MET Office in London said: “The weather (on the 11th) was not the sort that one normally associates with thunderstorms, but … as (it was near) the Isles of Scilly where observations were sparse, then I cannot categorically say it was not ball lightning.” TORRO, Tornado and Storm Research Organisation, have yet to comment.