On 11th October 2014, the Shropshire Star published an article on their web site entitled

Strange object spotted flying over Shropshire

In it they claimed that a couple of blokes in Telford, named Ryan Jones and Stevie Fletcher, had seen a UFO in Trench, near MoD Donnington in Telford.

They asked "Did anyone else see this strange object flying over Shropshire?"

In support of this claim, they published two photographs allegedly taken by these two Telford blokes, and quoted one as saying "I managed to grab a picture although it's not great as the sun was out when took it."

Here are the two images the Shropshire Star claims were taken in Telford:

Unfortunately for the Shropshire Star's reputation, it was quickly pointed out that these photos had previously appeared on the web credited as being taken in April 2008 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Rather than publish a correction and admit that they had been hoaxed by the men claiming to have taken the photographs, they have instead simply removed the original article from their website.

Here is a link to a locally-hosted copy of the original article. I believe that this is FAIR USE for the purpose of criticism. If the Shropshire Star objects to my re-publication of their copyright material, that they have withdrawn from public scrutiny, then I will be happy to remove it provided that the Shropshire Star publishes a printed correction acknowledging that they published false information and that they fully retract the article.

Strange object spotted flying over Shropshire

GB