At approximately 10.15 in the morning on friday, 9 november 1979 forester robert taylor, a 61-year-old local inhabitant of livingston, scotland, encountered a ufo and entities of the most extraordinary nature.

With his dog, taylor drove in his pick-up truck to inspect young forest trees in an area just off the m8 motorway which connects edinburgh to glasgow. he stopped the pick-up and walked to the site he wanted to inspect; as he rounded a corner he was astonished to see what was hovering in the clearing ahead of him.

The object was approximately 20 feet (6 metres) wide and 12 feet (3.65 metres) high, globular for the most part but surrounded by a flange similar to the brim of a hat. protruding upward from the 'hat' were what appeared to be motionless propellers placed around the rim. behind them and on the main body of the object appeared to be the outline of portholes or at least somewhat different coloured patches. beneath the rim the object was slightly darker and the witness got the impression that the object may have been trying to camouflage itself by hazing in and out of solidity. the witness was uncertain whether the object itself was transparent or reflective but got the impression that its normal colour was of a dull grey and had a texture of a rough sandpaper. the real shocks were yet to come!

Just seconds after first seeing the object, two small, spiked spheres either dropped down from it or rushed from behind it, rolling across the ground on extended spikes towards taylor. they were approximately 3 feet (91 cm) wide and also a dull grey, similar to the main craft. as they reached him, the spheres, one on each side, attached themselves to his legs and he felt himself being dragged towards the object. he was overwhelmed by an acrid smell and lost consciousness.

When he came to, the objects were gone and his dog was racing around him in an agitated state. taylor himself had apparently lost his voice and was unable to stand comfortably. he was forced to crawl some 90 yards (82 metres) back to his pick-up truck but shortly ran it into soft mud in his desperation to leave the area and consequently had to walk home. for hours afterwards he had a headache and a thirst which lasted for two days.

Subsequent investigation of the site showed ground markings which correlated to the spikes on the small spherical objects where they had apparently churned up the grass. of particular importance was the damage to his trousers; they were of a heavy blue serge but were torn on each leg where, apparently, the spherical objects had attached themselves. the tears were upwards, suggesting that they had been formed by dragging him forwards and were investigated by the british ufo research association who currently hold the trousers for any further forensic examination that can be undertaken.

Of the witness himself, taylor is described as honest and responsible and not the sort of person to play jokes. with perhaps some difficulty he now believes he saw an extraterrestrial craft and robots. for a while he carried a camera in case he should encounter them again. investigation into his personal circumstances revealed a man who drank very little alcohol, was of generally good health and with no significant history of head injury or suffering from headaches or blackouts. according to the investigator his hearing is good and he wears glasses only for reading.

... The very thorough investigation by steuart campbell suggests that the ground traces and physical evidence which was found gave little support to the contention that there were no physical objects present at all.

On the other hand, the investigation also suggested that it was unlikely that the object was man-made since there appeared to be no likely manufacturer in the proximity. in any case, flying such an object to the clearing would almost certainly have come to the attention of somebody on the m8 motorway which is a most frequently used one in scotland. although very close to the motorway the encounter itself could not have been seen since the trees would have obscured the view of the site. however, any flight path into the clearing would have been seen, yet there are no corroborative reports. did the object emerge in the clearing in some other way...?