Pentyrch and the wider Llantrisant area, South Wales
Incident period: Early hours of 26 February 2016; subsequent research and FOI correspondence
Red lights above a field, a triangular or pyramid-like form, aircraft and distant explosions made Pentyrch one of the most discussed Welsh UFO encounters of the twenty-first century. Caz Clarke’s account became the centre of a much wider story. Early local recollections and actual Ministry of Defence replies help separate the reported encounter from the exercise activity and later interpretations.
A wider area than one field
The main observation is associated with Pentyrch, northwest of Cardiff. Later investigation also focused on Llantrisant and Smilog Wood to the west. Those are related places in the case narrative, not one interchangeable site.
Clarke and a neighbour known publicly as Dave described watching unusual activity in the early hours of 26 February 2016. A central feature was an arrangement of red lights interpreted as a very large pyramid or triangular structure, with smaller red or green lights moving nearby.
The public accounts link the episode with aircraft, helicopters and explosions. The striking claim that a smaller object was pursued or brought down is a witness interpretation of that sequence, rather than an established finding in the official replies consulted here.
A record close to the date
A South Wales Awakening post dated 1 March 2016 describes a talk by Richard D. Hall in Merthyr on 28 February. Its writer recalled audience members discussing lights, helicopters and explosions around Pontyclun and Llantrisant. The post explicitly said these notes were written from memory.
A comment posted under Mike Henbury’s name on 6 March adds a first-person account of red lights forming a triangle, smaller coloured lights and aircraft. He described a late-night dog walk along Tyn-y-Coed Road and subsequent explosions.
This is valuable early public material, though it is an informal post and comment rather than a verified interview transcript. Its dates show that the broader story did not begin only with a television programme years later.
Clarke’s account reaches a larger audience
Clarke subsequently gave public presentations and interviews. A 2018 Cornwall UFO conference page includes a personal-statement presentation, while the case later became the subject of a book by Clarke and investigator Gari Jones.
Sky HISTORY’s account of the first Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies episode, which premiered in January 2022, identifies the pyramid description, alleged damage in nearby woods and claims of military secrecy as major themes. The programme paired Charles with Sarah Cruddas and brought the story to a wider audience.
The broadcaster’s promotional summary sometimes states dramatic elements very strongly. It documents how the programme presented the case; it is not an official confirmation that a craft was shot down.
What the May 2016 MoD reply actually says
A particularly useful primary document is Joint Forces Command’s response FOI 2016/03430, dated 16 May 2016. It answered questions about a noisy exercise near the hospital, ground activity, explosions and road closures.
The annex says no live ammunition was used. It describes blank simulated ammunition and says the explosions were controlled detonations of simulated munitions used to assist the exercise. It also explains that military training areas do not always have the required features, so other locations may be used with landowner agreement.
The reply withholds some details under the defence exemption in section 26 of the Freedom of Information Act. It does not withhold every answer, deny that activity occurred, or identify an extraterrestrial target. Reading the annex is essential because the cover letter alone merely announces that some information is withheld.
The later exercise confirmation
A second primary response, FOI 2018/10907 from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, is dated 20 September 2018. The request concerned exercises between 22 and 26 February 2016 within five miles of Pentyrch and Llantrisant.
The MoD said one exercise took place in the specified area and period, on private land with the landowner’s agreement. It directed the applicant to the earlier May 2016 response for further information.
This is a defined answer to a defined request. It establishes an exercise in the relevant region and period. It neither maps every light in the civilian accounts nor provides the complete flying and ground-activity logs needed to reconstruct each observation.
The investigation itself develops several branches
Swansea UFO Network’s published history says its involvement began with interviews in October 2017. The group later parted from the Clarke–Jones investigation. Its 2022 account is important as a statement by participants, although its dispute with other participants means its judgements should be attributed.
The group described additional photographs and a short video shown by other witnesses from a different location. This article has not inspected original files or independently verified their capture data. Material taken miles away cannot simply be captioned as a close photograph of the object Clarke described.
The broader research therefore contains more than one source stream: the original observers’ accounts, nearby residents’ observations, military activity records, later site visits and competing interpretations. Treating all of these as one continuous camera record would obscure what each can actually establish.
The woods and the claimed physical evidence
Smilog Wood became a focus because investigators associated damaged trees and unusual-looking material with a possible impact or recovery site. The television coverage discussed broken trunks and white marks, while later supportive accounts gave these a prominent role.
These are claims about a proposed connection between a site and the reported night. Establishing that connection requires dated observations, a reliable location and evidence about what caused the damage. The sources inspected here do not provide a recovered object with a documented chain of custody.
No unlicensed witness photograph or modern reconstruction has been used as an authentic image of the encounter in this case file. The distinction matters especially where a dark scene has inspired vivid diagrams and illustrations.
A Welsh Government answer is a different record
On 10 May 2024, the Welsh Government answered request ATISN 19542 for information about the incident. After searching paper and electronic records, it said it did not hold the requested information.
This is not the same institution or answer as the MoD’s confirmation of exercise information. A summary claiming that “the government had no records” would combine separate bodies and contradict the surviving defence responses.
The three replies can instead be read together: the MoD supplied some exercise information and withheld some operational details, while the Welsh Government reported that its own search found no information in scope.
An encounter with a substantial, still-divided source trail
Pentyrch has an early local discussion, named public witnesses, later investigations, published disagreement and original official correspondence. It offers considerably more to follow than a single retold anecdote, but those sources answer different questions.
The most useful next additions would be original dated statements, complete relevant activity records and independently documented site evidence. The existing material already supports a detailed history of what people reported, how the case grew and what the official replies actually said.
The map uses Pentyrch’s broad locality. It does not identify a witness’s private address or assert an exact landing or crash point in the woods. This keeps the geographical distinction between the reported field encounter and the later search area visible.
Timeline
26 February 2016: the principal reported encounter and nearby overnight activity.
28 February–6 March: local discussion, a dated post and an early first-person online comment.
16 May 2016: Joint Forces Command answers questions about the exercise and simulated munitions.
October 2017: SUFON dates the beginning of its involvement.
20 September 2018: the MoD confirms an exercise within the requested area and period.
January 2022: the case features in Craig Charles: UFO Conspiracies.
10 May 2024: the Welsh Government reports that it holds no information in scope of a separate request.
Sources & further reading
South Wales Awakening, 1 March 2016, and dated comments — Early informal record of audience accounts and Henbury’s first-person comment.
Joint Forces Command: FOI 2016/03430, 16 May 2016 — Original three-page reply, including the annex on blank ammunition and simulated detonations.
Defence Infrastructure Organisation: FOI 2018/10907 — Original confirmation of an exercise on private land in the requested area and period.
Welsh Government: ATISN 19542, 10 May 2024 — Separate search response; not a denial that the MoD holds exercise records.
Sky HISTORY: the Pentyrch programme — The broadcaster’s presentation of witness and site claims.
Swansea UFO Network: its investigation history and response — A participant account published in 2022; interpretations and disputed assertions remain attributed.
Cornwall UFO conference, 2018 — Public presentation trail, including Clarke’s personal-statement video.
Pentyrch geographical reference — Verified broad locality, avoiding private addresses and unverified impact coordinates.
Related case files
Broad Haven: the 1977 school UFO reports and the surviving drawings
Cosford and Shawbury, 1993: the night lights, RAF reports and the missing hour
Berwyn Mountains, 1974: the tremor, the lights and the mountainside sighting
Location note: Broad Pentyrch village reference. This is not a private witness address, an exact encounter position or a verified crash site in Smilog Wood.
UKPX historical case file. Researched and checked 4 November 2026. Explore the UK case map · Links & Sources.