> From a correspondent in London
> November 5, 2003
>
> A MYSTERIOUS transmission that baffled British intelligence analysts for
> days was caused by a ram rubbing up against an aerial mast, a government
> agency said today.
>
> Scientists at Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, western
> England, an intelligence-gathering station, were baffled by strange
> high-frequency noises coming from Scarborough signal station in Yorkshire,
> northeastern England.
>
> GCHQ's in-house paper, the Daily Observer, said the noises were unlike
> anything staff had encountered before and an investigating team initially
> thought they were coming from spies or aliens.
>
> Their investigation found the signal only happened in the day time, went
> across all the high-frequency bands and only Scarborough aerials could pick
> it up.
>
> Eventually, investigators discovered that a ram was rubbing its horns
> against the aerial masts "in between servicing some local ewes", the paper
> said.
>
> "It's possible the ram was attracted to the mast which may have given off
> some kind of tingling sensation, but it was probably just a post to rub
> against," said GCHQ spokesman Bob McNally.
>
> The Associated Press
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