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Thursday, August 14, 2008, 09:00
The South Wales Police aircraft, with a three-man crew, was forced to swerve sharply to avoid being hit.
The incident took place near RAF St Athan, a military base outside Cardiff, where the helicopter is based.
The police Eurocopter, an EC135T21, was hovering in the sky above the base, waiting to land, at 12.40am on June 8, a police spokeswoman confirmed.
While she went on to confirm the sighting of what was termed an "unusual aircraft", she went out of her way to avoid using the term UFO.
While police took a low-key approach to the incident today, they also quietly dismissed more dramatic reports of what had happened.
The Sun reported that the police gave chase to the UFO and pursued it across the Bristol Channel as far as the North Devon coast.
But police dismissed any idea that an aerial pursuit took place or that the helicopter crew were ever in any danger.
"South Wales Police can confirm its air support unit sighted an unusual aircraft. This was reported to the relevant authorities for their investigation," the police said in a brief statement.
"There are a wide variety of aircraft which come in different shapes and sizes, and in all probability this sighting has just confirmed that one of these was in the area at the relevant time."
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