Every year Brits report hundreds of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) – and have been doing so for more than eight decades. Here are some of the most mysterious UFO sightings in the UK
Every year Brits report hundreds of sightings of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Thousands of UFO sightings are reported every year but one of the most famous and unexplained UFO sightings took place in Suffolk 45 years to this day.
Just after midnight on Boxing Day, American troops at RAF Woodbridge in the Rendlesham Forest, 80 miles northeast of London, spotted an unusual craft on their radar equipment.
It may have been 45 years ago on December 26, 1980 but it remains amongst the most debated UFO incidents on record. Science and history author Andrew Collins explains: “Airmen were sent out in a vehicle to investigate, and came across this clearing in which was this otherworldly object surrounded with light.
“It rose up slightly, then moved backwards and disappeared. Over the next few nights, more and more sightings occurred. The whole episode was written up and recorded by the deputy base commander, Lieutenant Colonel Halt which was very unusual.”
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Britain is regarded as one of the planet’s most prolific UFO hotspots, despite government ministers having consistently maintained they harbour no concerns regarding reports of peculiar aerial activity. UFO researchers would beg to differ. They argue that the British government’s own documentation reveals a vastly different narrative – one that eventually emerged in 2008 – when the Ministry of Defence at last disclosed its UFO archives.
British writer, investigator and television host Lynn Picknett, who explores paranormal subjects, explains: “The MOD released 60,000 files on the subject. Which basically backs up the assertion over the years that they’ve been researching all sorts of anomalous phenomena.”
IMeanwhile, the British Ministry of Defence maintains records of military staff encountering UFOs spanning more than 80 years, according to a Sky History programme about UFOs.On 13th August 1956, Royal Air Force personnel stationed at RAF Bentwaters alleged they witnessed fifteen unidentified aerial phenomena on their radar displays streaking along the coast.
Nick Pope, a former Ministry of Defence (MoD) official who examined UFOs for the government between 1991 and 1994 and is currently a prominent authority on the topic, states: “Military jets were scrambled to try and intercept these things. At one point, one of the objects was recorded at speeds of around 4,000 miles an hour.
(Image: Alamy Stock Photo)
“That was way faster than anything anyone had at the time. And reliable witnesses, the pilots saw them. They’re simultaneously tracked on radar. At one point, these things are going in formation, and then they appear to converge and form a single object.”
If the British military has witnessed so many inexplicable incidents, why has the government consistently claimed to have no interest in UFOs? UFO researchers suggest the answer lies in examining the earliest documented British military encounters, which were recorded during World War II.
UFO investigator and podcaster Dan Zetterstrom explains: “Files released show that Prime Minister Churchill was being briefed on these encounters during World War II. He was worried that any release of information would lead to mass hysteria, public panic.
“So, he covered up every UFO sighting that happened. He put a blanket secrecy ban on reporting on UFOs for 50 years. But while Winston Churchill wanted to hide UFO sightings from the public, he also felt it was important to study them, and initiated government funded projects to do just that.”
UFO-like object moving faster than human eye captured by dogwalker Andrew Clifton in August 2025.(Image: Andrew Clifton / SWNS)
While many UFO enthusiasts suspect the British government continues to keep their most explosive UFO files under wraps, civilian research groups have investigated thousands of unexplained incidents. Some of the most fascinating occurred in a single town over the span of a decade: Warminster, England.
On Christmas Eve, 1964, local resident Mildred Head was jolted awake by a disturbing noise emanating from above her bedroom. Lynn Picknett describes: “It sounded like thousands upon thousands of tiles being ripped off and then thrown back on, which was utterly terrifying and also there was a vibration going through the house.”
The sole explanation Mildred could conjure was that the disturbance might have stemmed from military exercises at a neighbouring Royal Air Force Base. That remained her theory until her neighbour, Marjorie Bay, encountered something equally peculiar. Nick continues: “The very next day, Marjorie Bay was going to church when she was assaulted by a series of strange vibrations that she felt reverberating through her body, and shortly afterwards, dozens of other witnesses in and around Warminster reported the same thing. It was as if some unse
A British Airways pilot said he spotted UFOs and white orbs flying at 30,000ft.
en force was just taking a hold of people and shaking them.”
Following reports from locals about buzzing or droning sounds and peculiar lights appearing overhead, over 300 residents gathered at their community town hall seeking explanations. National newspapers became intrigued and visitors began flocking to Warminster for evening sky vigils where others also observed these enigmatic aerial phenomena.
David Clarke remembers: “There was a classic photograph of a disc shaped object that was taken by Gordon Faulkner. And the Daily Mirror immediately put it on the front page, big splash. From that point onwards Warminster became the place to go and see flying saucers. It was the first sort of UFO hotspot in the British Isles.”
One region of Great Britain that has witnessed UFO encounters on an almost daily basis from ancient times through to today is Yorkshire. Private detective Paul Sinclair and his colleagues commenced their investigation and monitoring of the area in 2009, positioning cameras along the clifftops beside the North Sea.
During one evening in 2020, their footage proved especially fascinating.
“We saw an object rise out of the water. I started filming. The entire sequence of events lasted about 90 seconds. We estimated the speed to cover six miles in 90 seconds was about 240 miles per hour before it seems to turn in and drop into the sea. So we’ve got an object that’s gone below the surface, risen from the sea, traveled six miles and then gone below the surface.
“We have footage of objects beneath the surface of the water. Or luminous light beneath the surface. And we’ve no explanation for that. We’ve filmed that on three occasions.”
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