Third Eye Realm

Cannock Chase is located between Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley and Stafford. It comprises a mixture of natural deciduous woodland, coniferous plantations, open heathland and the remains of early industry, such as coal mining. The landscape owes much to the underlying Triassic bunter formations. Cannock Chase was designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) on 16 September 1958 and is the smallest area so designated in mainland Britain, covering 68 km² (26 square miles).

Big foot

Few mysteries have endured for as long as our resident ape-man.

Sightings date back centuries but all are similar in their description of the elusive beast.

Tall, man-like, very hairy and with blazing red eyes.

The sightings have left some trembling with fear while others have descended on the Chase to investigate and lure the beast into the open in a bid to find concrete proof of its existence.

Sasquatch - to give the creature its Native American label - has been spotted all over the area from Castle Ring to Slitting Mill.

As yet no firm evidence has been found to support the existence of Bigfoot on the Chase.

The Chase Panther

There's something else in the woods besides Bigfoot. At least there is if dozens of eyewitnesses are to be believed.

Sightings of large black cats on The Chase have gone through the roof giving believers and sceptics something to get their claws into.

The debate rages whether large animals released in the 70s could survive and even breed successfully on our doorstep.

Those who claim to have seen the beast are in no doubt it's real.

Described as large, black, bigger than a dog, stalking like a cat and with red eyes it sounds like a match for any deer unfortunate to be caught.

UFO'S

Well, nobody knows what they are which is why they're called unidentified flying objects.

Whatever they are the Chase has been a magnet for lights in the sky and even, some say, a UFO crash landing in 1964.

Physiotherapists across the district are always in demand as Chase folk crane their necks upwards desperate to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.

Earlier this year the MOD released previously top secret files revealing the skies over Cannock had been the subject of investigations after reports of strange lights hovering above the town.

And between 1988 and the early 90s a raft of sightings led to the period being known as the 'Staffordshire Flap'.

The most significant even during that time happened on May 16 1988. Evidence suggests two UFOs, noticed by Air Traffic Control at Birmingham Airport, descended to a height of 1000-feet.

Dozens of witnesses, including police officer, watched in awe as the two shapes moved across the sky.

After swooping and climbing manoeuvres the objects vanished in the blink of an eye.

The closest encounter for Chase folk however is shrouded in mystery.

Rumours abound of military cordons and road blocks following the crash landing of a craft on the Chase in 1964.

The object, tracked by British, Russian and US intelligence, broke into several pieces with some coming down in the woods outside of Cannock.

Locals travelling across the Chase were told to find other routes while some witnesses reported seeing a craft being loaded onto a transport truck.

Accusations of a cover up, with locals being told to forget what they had seen, followed. It seems we're no closer to the truth now than we were then.

The Chase Cavemen

Panthers, Bigfoot, UFOs,. None even come close to the mystery surrounding the subterranean cave-men living on the Chase.

Disappearing pets have been attributed to the hairy, wolf like creatures as they come to the surface to forage for food.

'Credible' witnesses to the strange beings include a local postman and a scoutmaster.

The first theories labelled the cavemen as Werewolves. However other suggest they could be a tribe of Stone-Age 'throwbacks' surviving in cave an tunnel networks across the Chase.

An investigator, who wished to remain anonymous, went on record saying: "Strange sightings in this area have been made over many years by civilians, military, police and scout leaders.

"Some incidents were reported and logged but others not - some people don't want to be classes as mad.

"The creatures could have made their way to the surface via old earthworks to hunt, for example, local deer.

"It's a fact there has been significant mining activity under Cannock Chase for centuries. And it's a fact there is a high rate of domestic pet disappearance in the area."