2008-07-11 - Manchester (Salford) (UK/England) - Cylinder

I just opened my front door to go for a cigerette and a bright light (like a planes front light from a distance or a very bright star ) caught my eye, what was unusual was the speed ( literally as fast as you see a firework but on a much higher altitude ) and the area it covered must have been immense. So it turned from looking like a very bright star in the distance to not far from straight above my position ( maybe 2% forward of me) at an altitude of im guessing a planes flight path into Manchester airport from Salford. As it got closer i saw it was cylinder shaped with lights running down the sides. Then the lights faded, the outline first then the lights running down the sides but it did not fade like a shooting star, there was no tail ( it was definatly a cylinder shape, not an object with a tail), as it faded I saw a plane heading in to Manchester about 5 seconds from its position. From first sighting to it disappearing was 3 to 6 seconds but I saw what I saw. I had to report this to someone, thanks