There has been a new crop circle discovered in oil seed rape at Littlebury Green in Essex. First reported to me this morning by Ron Hill and confirmed this afternoon by Russell Stannard, it is a cardioid shape and is under power lines, just visible from the M11 motorway.

We thank Paul Vigay for the photos of the Littlebury Green/Essex 'cardioid', now up on his site at: I.R.C.U.P. 1997 UK Crop Circles.

* To get an idea of the size of this Formation: It spans over 9 tramlines. If the width of each is only 40' (they can range between 26'-60'), the diameter is a minimum of 360'.

* The Ring is in flowering Rape seed - a beautiful and delicate flower.

* The centre of the small Ring is *between* the tramlines, and in this photo appears completely undisturbed - which it definitely would not, had someone used it as the point from which to mark out the circumference.

Thank you, Paul Vigay

The formation is actually outside Saffron Walden, although I suppose Cambridge is quite close at eighteen or so miles up the M11. People have asked which direction north is in. The power lines in the photograph run about 5 degrees east of north south and the formation is on a south facing slope.

Stems were kinked near the ground, quite a few broken. Flowers were growing up though, even on the broken stems. It was too dark at the time I was in the formation to see the state of the plants properly.

Report by Russell Stannard.

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