Residents of Gorey, Ireland, awoke Saturday to see local police pursuing a flying saucer down city streets.
The saucer went through a County Wexford children’s playground before officers caught up with it, pulled it over and attempted first contact.
But the mysterious craft turned out to be built by a local artist to publicize the Third Space Pop Up Art Show, a youth and arts festival that took place a few days earlier at Gorey Park and featured more than 20 local artists.
The artist, Ali Kemal Ali, said he had already spoken to local authorities and they were in on his little joke.
“They loved it, they were brilliant,” Ali told the Sky.com news website.
“How often do you go into a police station and ask for something like this — they saw the funny side of it,” he said.
They also must have understood that the saucer was no threat, and didn’t even fly.
Instead, the vehicle runs on two electric scooters but has a strobe light, smoke machine and laser to give it that little extra something, Ali said.
“When you come up beside it, it feels like it’s alive,” he said.
For an inanimate object, Ali’s saucer actually has some life left in it.
The saucer is expected to make an appearance at next month’s Electric Picnic music and arts festival in County Laois next month.
