Dechmont Woods

On the morning of 9 November 1979, 61-year-old forestry worker Robert “Bob” Taylor drove to Dechmont Law near Livingston to carry out a routine inspection of woodland belonging to the Livingston Development Corporation. Accompanied by his red setter, Lara, Taylor left his vehicle and followed a forest track towards a clearing. What he claimed happened next became one of the strangest incidents in British UFO history. Taylor said he encountered an enormous dark-grey object approximately twenty feet across, either resting upon or hovering immediately above the clearing. He described its surface as rough, almost like sandpaper or emery paper, surrounded by a flange carrying strange protrusions. Most bizarrely, parts of the object reportedly appeared to become translucent, allowing Taylor to see the surrounding landscape through it. Then two smaller objects appeared. Taylor described them as spherical machines resembling naval mines, each covered with approximately six projecting spikes. They moved towards him, the spikes apparently digging into the ground as they travelled. The objects reached Taylor. He reported an overpowering acrid smell and then felt something pulling at his trousers. According to his account, the two spiked spheres seized him and began dragging him towards the larger object. Taylor lost consciousness. When he awoke, the objects had disappeared. Lara was highly agitated and Taylor was weak, confused and suffering from a headache. His trousers were torn and he had injuries to his chin and thighs. Unable to successfully radio for assistance and having driven his vehicle into difficulty while still disorientated, he eventually staggered approximately a mile home. His condition immediately alarmed his family. Taylor's employer was contacted, as was a doctor. More importantly, the incident was reported to the police. Officers subsequently examined the clearing. There they found unusual physical markings, including parallel impressions and numerous smaller holes or indentations in the ground. Taylor's clothing was taken as evidence. Because a man had returned from the woods physically injured and claiming that something had attacked him, police treated the incident as a criminal assault. That alone makes Dechmont extraordinary. But there is another remarkable detail. At approximately 4:30pm on 8 November — around eighteen hours before Taylor's encounter — another witness reported seeing a circular grey object travelling slowly and at low altitude near Uphall, approximately one mile from the later encounter. A separate red glow reportedly followed behind it. Whatever that witness saw, the report existed independently of Taylor's extraordinary experience the following morning. Investigations produced competing explanations. Suggestions have included unusual atmospheric phenomena, neurological events and misidentification. None has established beyond doubt what Taylor experienced. Tests also failed to produce extraordinary material or radioactive evidence from the location. Taylor nevertheless maintained his account for the remainder of his life. There was no photograph of an alien. No mysterious image discovered after film development. Instead there was a forestry worker who entered the woods during an ordinary working morning and came back injured, with torn clothing, describing two spiked machines dragging him towards an enormous object. Police then went into the woods. And found marks on the ground. Type of Phenomena: UFO/UAP / Physical Encounter / Unidentified Machines / Missing Consciousness / Physical Traces Classification: Close Encounter / Physical-Effects UFO Case Reported Phenomena: Large dark-grey metallic object Surface apparently becoming partially translucent Two moving spiked spherical objects Powerful unexplained odour Physical contact and alleged dragging Loss of consciousness Torn clothing and physical injuries Unusual ground markings Independent UFO report approximately one mile away eighteen hours earlier Formal police investigation