UFO sightings in Dorset – and what would the police do?

But, according to three people, they did spot him and phoned the police. 

Data collected via a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Daily Echo reveals Dorset Police received three reports of UFO sightings in Dorset’s skies in the past three years. 

The first, in July 2020, was from somebody in Bournemouth. The caller told the handler he could see what appears to be a UFO over the sea south of the pier.

This information was then relayed to two officers on the cliff top who did not report seeing anything similar. 

This incident was logged with no further action. 

The following year in November somebody in Poole phoned the police after he took pictures of what turned out to be lights in the sky. 

In September of 2022, Dorset Police received a report of an unidentified flying object in the skies above West Bay Beach in Bridport. 

Read more: UFOs spotted flying above Boscombe Pier

The caller said he could see lights in the sky which he believed to be UFOs. 

The FOI says police did attend, but only because of mental health concerns and not because of the UFO sighting. 

Although the term didn’t become common until the 1950s, the first sighting of an unexplained flying object in Dorset was recorded on December 8, 1733. 

A Dorset Police spokeswoman said before action would be taken by officers it would have to be established the call is genuine. 

Read more: A history of UFO sightings in Dorset – have you seen any?

She said: “For example, if there were a large number of calls in relation to an unidentified object in the sky, tactical consideration would be given to contact Air Traffic Control.  

“On some occasions, it may be deemed necessary to make further contact with the informant for safeguarding reasons.  

“If the call is deemed not genuine and there are no wider concerns, no further police action would be taken.” 

A UFO is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are identified as known objects or atmospheric phenomena, while a small number remain unexplained.