Sleepy UK hamlet hit by malfunctioning rocket

by Steven Mostyn - Oct 27 2010, 10:24

As the UK winter closes in and the weather grumbles accordingly, the practice of dodging flash showers, torrential rain and icy hail storms are all nothing out of the ordinary. However, it's not often that UK residents have to seek shelter from misplaced rockets...

Yet that was certainly the case for the unassuming folk of Somerset, who were showered with wreckage on Sunday morning after an enthusiasts' 12-foot rocket malfunctioned after it launched from Cheddar Moor and slammed into a nearby village at around 100 miles per hour.

Launched by a team led by Richard Brown, the hurtling projectile was supposed to reach a height of more than 6,000 metres (approx. 20,000 feet) before floating gently to the ground beneath a deployed parachute. Unfortunately, however, the launch went awry soon after lift off and the craft broke into two separate sections.

While the front portion remaining attached to the descent parachute and plopped into a farmer's field, a sizable length of the rocket's tail slammed into the garden of 36-year-old Martin Corkish of Clewer, who was left fuming by the shock arrival due to the close proximity of his wife and two young children.

“It could have landed anywhere and if it had hit anybody it would have killed them outright,” complained Mr. Corkish.

Although the rocket launch did have official approval from the Civil Aviation Authority, local police and safety officials have said an investigation will be conducted into the potentially dangerous accident.

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