A BLINDING flash at 11.58pm on Monday evening (March 16) was followed by complete darkness in Bude, Stratton and the surrounding villages.

The cause has been traced to an alien space craft which landed near the electrical sub station in Stratton. The craft had experienced a loss of power while photographing dishes at Morwenstow and needed to recharge its energy cells.

The Blackhole Energy Algorithm Saturation Technology (BEAST) energy cells were until recently manufactured on Cruithne (our second moon) but due to outsourcing are now made on a planet far, far, away where the quality assurance is poor.

The space craft uses light technology to propel itself forward and this very bright light could be seen on Monday night very clearly from Upton. Each time the spacecraft attempted to lift off the bright light was visible but as it was drawing too much power from the National Grid it caused all the power in and around Bude to fail. After several attempts the craft departed at 12.55am and power was restored to the homes at Bude at 12.57am.

Mr S Parks from Western Power told our reporter that this was becoming a regular event since customers were able to choose their own electricity supplier.

The Mayor's office spokesman said that they did not expect the incident to cause disruption to the refuge collections although recycling may be delayed by one day.

Bude.