What was mysterious light and sound in the skies over Herefordshire? (From Hereford Times)

What was mysterious light and sound in the skies over Herefordshire?

8:40am Friday 31st August 2012 in News By Paul Broome

VISITORS from another galaxy may have visited Herefordshire over the bank holiday weekend – but they didn’t hang around long.

A number of readers reported a mysterious explosion of light and sound in various parts of the county on Monday night.

A flash of light moving quickly and a distant explosion were seen and heard following what appears to have been a meteor shower.

“It happened just overhead and only lasted about five seconds,” said John Price, who lives near Kingsland .

“It was a blueish-white sphere, about the size of a football, and was quite low in the sky.”

John said the boom of light spooked horses in a nearby field before the mysterious sight disappeared in the direction of Leominster .

“It gave off a fierce glow but there was no sound whatsoever. It’s something I’ve never seen before.”

But elsewhere in Herefordshire, close to Bromyard , one resident reported hearing a large bang.

Bishops Frome’s Rhondda Harper said she was reading in bed when she heard what sounded like an explosion a long way away. She contacted our sister paper the South Wales Argus, which had run a story about a ‘big bang’ being heard in Cwmbran.

Max Salsbury, from Withington, also heard the bang which he thought was a huge gas explosion.

“It alarmed all the pheasants and dogs nearby and shook my house,” he said.

“Unfortunately I did not see anything but it made quite a noise.”

Elsewhere, BBC Radio Five Live reported sightings in the north west of England and north Wales.

A meteor shower occurs when thousands of tiny particles of debris enter the Earth’s atmosphere and almost immediately burn up, creating a short glow in the sky.

• If you witnessed the bright lights or heard the explosion-type noise, you can comment below.