Basingstoke Canal - Alfred Burtoo Incident

Alfred Burtoo Incident

On 12 August 1983, at about 1:00 am, 77-year-old Alfred John Burtoo (18 March 1906 – 31 August 1986) from North Town in Aldershot was fishing on the canal near Government Road in Aldershot with his dog Tiny, when, according to Burtoo, a disc-shaped unidentified flying object landed nearby. At first, the powerful light from the disc made Alfred think it was an Army helicopter. However, 4-foot-high (1.2 m) humanoid figures from craft beckoned him to the UFO. He claims, 'he was 77 and didn't have much to lose', so he followed them on board. He was medically examined, and the diminutive creatures could even speak English in a 'sing song' voice. On finding out that he was 77, the creatures told him he was no use to them, as he was too old and infirm for our purposes. He was 'anxious not to cause any offence', so avoided asking questions such as what planet do you come from? Later at 10:00 am, he told two military policemen of his UFO sighting, and they had seen it too. An incident of this type is designated a close encounter of the third kind.