Yorkshire ranks in second place for UFO activity in the UK

The information has been collated by PsychicWorld.com from records held by the National UFO reporting centre.

Recorded sightings locally go back as far as 2003.

• The most recent sighting in Bradford was on March 4, 2022, when bright glowing ice blue and white lights and then fiery orange appeared in the sky for five minutes.
• A couple reported seeing a bright light appearing out of nowhere as they sat smoking in their garden at 10pm. The light appeared for seven minutes on June 13, 2014.
• In February 2013 a bright orange ball of light was in the sky in the Allerton area of Bradford for 10 minutes.
• Bright lights and blue lightning could be seen for 40 minutes in the North East of Bradford back in 2010.
• On March 4, 2003, three shocked campers reported seeing a boomerang-shaped craft – for around 20 seconds – above Haworth.
• Haworth was the location for another sighting on April 17, 2008. A dim white light was observed, followed by a brighter silvery ‘ball’ – moving slowly at first. They were visible for about three minutes.
• In Keighley, a sphere was spotted for several seconds on April 27, 2004. The observer stated: “Whilst looking at the moon I saw a distinct, round ball-shaped object glide past the bright moon. I was unable to track the object.”
• A sphere was also seen over Keighley — for around ten minutes – on October 8, 2007.
• On December 19, 2019, more than 30 lights were seen following each other in the sky over Keighley – in a perfect line – for around five minutes. But the UFO reporting centre potentially put that down to satellites.

According to data Yorkshire is the UK’s second most prolific hotspot region for UFO activity – with a total of 152 sightings.

Only London beats it, with 256 reports.

Third behind Yorkshire is the West Midlands, where there have been 136 recorded observations.

On the European stage, England tops the table for sightings – with 2,678, each lasting an average of 13.32 minutes. Records are mainly of unexplainable bright lights.

Joyce Olsen, of PsychicWorld.com, told us: “UFOs, or unidentified flying objects, have been around for centuries.

“With sightings dating all the way back to ancient times, humans have always been fascinated with the thought of otherworldly life forms. Whilst explanations for strange occurrences in the sky may be more explicable now than they were in the past, there are certain occurrences that are more difficult to unpack.

“And although Hollywood might have us believe that aliens and UFOs are attracted to desolate, unpopulated landscapes, many of the world’s UFO hotspots can be found in towns and major cities, as shown in this data.

“Whether you believe the strange lights you spot in the night sky are due to extra-terrestrial visitors, or you’re more likely to put it down to a meteor or satellite, UFOs that lack a simple explanation open up a universe of possibilities.

“And, whilst there may be no definitive answer yet as to whether alien life forms roam the skies, the high concentration of unexplained UFOs in the UK certainly offers the possibility that there is something more out there.”

It’s suspected the official data doesn’t show the full picture either, as many more people – across the years – have spoken of seeing strange objects in the skies over the Bradford district.

Back in 2007, there was a flurry of reports from people spotting bright lights and ‘fireballs’ over the town.

One person feared she was witnessing an ‘Independence Day’ style event, a reference to the science fiction film that features an attack by an extraterrestrial race.

And in 2013, a mysterious ball of light was seen hurtling across the night sky above Cross Roads.

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