A concerned mom was left feeling a little embarrassed after spotting what she thought was a dead body in a canal only for police to confirm it as something altogether more mundane.
Hayley Thomas from the town of Neath in Wales, was out walking with her kids on February 23, 2019, when she saw what she thought was a human hand sticking out of the water of Neath Canal.
“To be honest I was in complete shock and disbelief especially as I had my children with me,” Thomas told Newsweek. “I walked back and forth several times and thought to myself ‘no, it can’t be.'”
Thomas can be forgiven for jumping to that conclusion though. After all, research has shown the the human visual system is capable of tricking the brain into making inaccurate assumptions about objects in the world around them.
In 2023, researchers from the University of York and Aston University in the U.K. tested the theory with a group of participants who were presented with photographs of full-scale railway scenes, which had the upper and lower parts of the image blurred, as well photographs of small-scale models of railways that were not blurred.
The participants were asked to work out which was the “real” image of the railway scene and, time and time again, plumped for the picture of the models, having perceived the blurred real trains to be smaller than the ones in the other picture.
At the time the findings were thought to have significant implications for the criminal justice system and how eyewitness accounts are treated. Thomas’ experience could be a prime example of this in action but it’s worth noting that she did get a second opinion before contacting the police.
“I rang my mum, husband and friends; sent them the photo. They said ‘omg have you found a body.'” Still unsure, Thomas admits she “contemplated walking away” but decided it was better to be sure.
“I would have never forgiven myself if I left and later heard that an actual body had been discovered,” she said. Thomas had another reason to be cautious about the potential discovery.
“A part of me did think it could be a glove but a body had been found in the canal nearby a few days earlier so I felt I had to ring the police.” According to an ITV report, the body of a man was discovered in the canal on February 21, 2019, with police describing the death as “unexplained and sudden.”
Thomas was shocked at what happened next though. “A few moments later three police cars turned up and cordoned off the area,” she said. Thomas went home but later received a text message from police informing her that the hand she had seen was, in fact, a marigold rubber glove.
Though she felt bad for “wasting police time” Thomas was also “in hysterics” when she found out it was a rubber glove and said the officer she spoke to was “so kind” about the mistake. “They told me not to worry as I panicked about wasting police time,” she said. “I was still pretty embarrassed to say the least.”
Despite the mix-up, Thomas is glad there was a “happy ending” of sorts to her discovery, while the picture she shared of the “hand” is still a firm favorite among her friends and family. Thomas has since shared the story to TikTok, where she posts under the handle @hayleymt705.
“It’s become an inside joke with my friends,” she said. “Every time we discuss it they all laugh and say ‘it can only happen to you Hayley.'”