The Ridgeway near Weymouth, Dorset, England, United Kingdom
The Rod Dickinson UFO Footage
Rod Dickinson filmed a dark or metallic disc-like object near The Ridgeway above Weymouth on 7 April 1998. The footage shows a daylight object drifting or hovering near communication masts. Later stabilisation work made the clip widely known, but the analyst explicitly stated that he did not have th
Why This Case Matters
A strong-looking daylight video whose evidential value is sharply limited by loss of the first-generation raw recording.
Chronology
- 7 Apr 1998 Dickinson records daylight object near ridge masts
- footage enters UK UFO/documentary circulation
- original raw tape later becomes unavailable
- 2010 stabilisation/analysis performed from edited compressed documentary copy
- online versions continue circulating
The Witnesses
Evidence
The following evidence types are documented for this case:
Conventional explanations: Aircraft, balloon, suspended/model object, camera artefact and misjudged distance remain possible. Stabilisation can improve viewing but cannot restore lost range or metadata.
What Remains Unresolved
- Original tape
- exact camera/lens/zoom
- duration and full unedited sequence
- independent witnesses
- mast/object geometry
- original date/timecode confirmation.
Key Takeaways
- Later claims that 'Lucasfilm experts could not debunk it' should not be treated as authentication. The published analyst explicitly lacked the unedited source tape.
Sources
Primary and secondary sources for this case file: