UFO fireball mystery solved?
Published: 04 March, 2010

A LOVESTRUCK couple have claimed responsibility for a Valentine's Day UFO sighting reported in the Highland News last week.

Jamie Stewart (23) and his girlfriend Heather Revill (18) drove up the road to Cairngorm and set off a five foot high love lantern after a romantic meal in a local restaurant.

The lantern could be seen for miles around and one report of the UFO spotted by someone in Nairn appeared on a Canadian researcher's website.

The Highland News has since received reports of similar sightings around the same time from Grantown to Fort Augustus.

Jamie, an engineer working in Aviemore, took Heather, who lives in Nethybridge, out for an Indian meal on February 14 to celebrate Valentine's Day.

"I had bought two of these lanterns online and we set one off from Nethybridge on the 11th but it was in between houses and wasn't very visible.

"We had our meal on Valentine's Day and went halfway up Cairngorm beyond the Glenmore Lodge and set the other one off about 6pm.

"It took off into the night sky and look very impressive. It produced a bright orange light, just as was described in the Highland News.

"The love lanterns are nothing like Chinese lanterns which are very small. The love lanterns really are massive. I found them on a website iwantoneofthose.com and the two lanterns cost me £9.99 plus package and postage but it was worth every penny."

Heather, who works at a supermarket in Aviemore, spotted the article in the Highland News.

"We all had a good laugh when we realised we had caused such a stir," said Jamie. "But I'm not an alien or a green man - Heather doesn't think so anyway."

The love lanterns are heart-shaped and when the fuel block is lit the canopy fills with hot air to lift it into the night sky. The lantern itself is flame-proof and it's all completely biodegradable.