11/6/67 - Farlow, two anonymous, between Avon and Sopley England, early morning

Report Summary	In the early hours of Monday morning 6th November 1967, Carl Beverley Farlow was driving his Leyland Super Comet diesel lorry down the A338 between Avon and Sopley on his way to deliver a consignment of Aga Cookers to a central heating firm at Christchurch near Bournemouth. It had been raining earlier but now the weather was fine and cool. As he approached a crossroad with a bridge over the River Avon an his right the headlights of the lorry began to dim, and within a few seconds had gone out altogether. He pulled up quickly with his engine running. It was then that he first noticed a large egg shaped object moving slowly across the road from the right. He estimated its height above the ground to be that of a telegraph pole and by comparison with the bridge its length was some 80 feet. By now the object was hovering quite motionless partly above the scrub land on his left and completely covering the road ahead. He described the colour as magenta with a whitish area at the bottom and through the open window of the cab he could hear a continuous humming sound not unlike a domestic refrigerator. For several minutes he sat there petrified. There was a strong, pungent odour similar to the small of an electric drill drilling through wood. His first impression was of a massive electrical fault on the lorry, The object then began to move off to the left,slowly at first, then accelerating at a moderate angle to disappear in seconds. It was then he became aware that another vehicle was also involved. A cream coloured Jaguar travelling in the opposite direction had driven up to the hedge bank. The UFO had apparently moved between the two vehicles. The Jaguar driver, a veterinary surgeon, came over to Mr. Farlow who was still sitting in his cab, and suggested that they phone the police. Both his engine and lights had malfunctioned an the UFO approached and his passenger, a young woman, had become hysterical. Fortunately, there was a telephone box between the two vehicles and the local and Christchurch police were soon on the scene. According to Carl Farlow the light which normally illuminated the telephone kiosk was not functioning and when the vet attempted to use his torch, this would not work either, although he had used the same torch earlier the previous evening. From the lights of the police vehicles Carl Farlow was able to see that the scrub land and hedge over which the UFO had hovered appeared brown and blackened. The road over which the [object]. had passed had a shiny appearance as though the tarmac surface had been melted. Both men were then taken to Christchurch police station where they were questioned separately and statements were taken until about 4.30 am. The woman passenger was treated for shock at a local hospital where she was kept overnight. The police arranged for hotel accommodation and later in the morning the men were taken to the police station, this time at Bourne, where they were interviewed by a man from the Ministry of Defence. In order to collect some personal effects Carl was driven back to Ringwood by the police on the A338 and passed the very spot where he had encountered the UFO. As he went by the bridge he saw a man with a theodolite and another with a geiger counter taking measurements along the road. In the field where the scrub land had been blackened a small bulldozer was levelling the ground and a man was repainting the telephone kiosk. According to Farlow on a subsequent trip to the Bournemouth area,about a week later, he found that the road had been resurfaced with tarmac for approximately 200 feet from the bridge where the incident had occurred. On Tuesday lunchtime Carl picked up his lorry from the police compound at Christchurch and was told by the engineer that all the electrics were out of commission. He was given a tow by an army truck to start the vehicle. Travelling only by day he eventually returned to the haulage contractor's depot in Shropshire. The lorry was immediately taken to an auto repair garage for examination. Apart from the harnesses, i.e.the main cables, the rest of the electrical system was virtually useless. This included the dynamo, starter motor, regulator, ammeter, some light bulbs and the four 6 volt batteries,which had been newly fitted to the lorry 4 months earlier, and this resulted in a 400 pound repair bill.
Hynek Classification	CE-II
Original Vallee Classification	Type I
Current Vallee Classification	CE2
Minimum Distance	30-40 feet?
Object Appearance	Magenta ellipse with whitish area near bottom. Approx 80 feet long.
Object Behavior	Hovered and departed.
Physical Effect	Heat sufficient to soften / melt tarmac, sear scrub. Vehicle electrical system interrupted and damaged in two separate vehicles.
Medical Effect	None
Comments / Conclusion	A highly evidential CE-II from the 1967 flap. One of the few instances of a diesel stopped by a UFO.