Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club by Roo Lewis

A touching long-term documentary project takes a closer look at an oft-overlooked Welsh town

- Amy Davies

£40, GOST Books, hardcover, 136 pages, ISBN: 9781910401989

The Welsh town of Port Talbot apparently has an ‘extremely high number of UFO sightings’, but, despite the title of this book, the project – or at least the resulting pictures within it – has very little to do with little green men.

Instead, this two-year documentary investigation uses the UFO sightings as the starting point to explore the people, landscape and folklore of what is often a dismissed town – even for those living within and surrounding it.

Port Talbot sits just off the M4, with its steelworks dominating the landscape. This industry was once roaring, but in recent years has faced increasing problems and decline. It also contributes to the labelling of the town as one of the most polluted areas in the UK – ironically though, it is surrounded by areas of outstanding natural beauty.

The M4, built during the 1960s and ’70s, enabled people to simply bypass Port Talbot altogether, and many will find that what was left behind is almost strangely still stuck in that time period. As such, there’s an abundance of interesting characters and places that are a rich seam to mine for anybody with a camera.