Sunderland UFO sightings over the years
Now that’s what we call close encounters!
World UFO Day is here and we are ready to mark it with some out of this world Wearside experiences.
There’s plenty of them in the Sunderland Echo archives. Did you know, we even have an online page dedicated to UFO stories.
Let’s take a look at some of the articles from our past.
Back in 2004, Neil Carter was in the back yard of his Monkwearmouth home when he spotted a UFO.
He managed to take a series of photos of them which he shared with the Sunderland Echo.
One intriguing story came from 2007.
UFO data from the Ministry of Defence revealed that a pair of unknown objects were seen travelling over Houghton towards Sunderland.
A double sighting in Houghton
The alleged sighting, which took place on August 14, 2007, was reported by a member of the public who was photographing stars in their garden.
The two unknown bodies had no engine noise and were both giving off light. They emulated each others movements, as though they were attached, even though they were at least half a mile apart.
But the person who made the report said they could not think of any "sane creature" that would travel across the universe just to visit a place like Houghton.
That same year, another UFO sighting was reported. Sunderland resident Neala Fenton recorded it on her mobile phone.
Bright lights in the Durham sky
Derek Murray from Ryhope made headlines in 2009 when he twice saw UFOs.
Durham Police was inundated with reports of bright lights in the night sky between 11pm and 11.30pm on a September night in 2012.
Concerned residents across the county rang in.
But the lights turned out to be a meteor shower which could be seen across the whole of the North East.
The lights were also seen in Scotland in Grangemouth, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Seen from a trampoline
In 2016, two girls got the shock of their lives while they were playing on a trampoline in their garden in Roker.
Bethany Campbell, 15, and her little cousin, Lexie, six, recorded what they thought could be a UFO.
The older girl managed to capture the white flashing lights with the camera of her mobile phone and family members were shocked when she showed them.
World UFO Day aims to raise awareness of UFOs and consider the existence of life beyond this planet.
Tell us about your UFO encounters by emailing [email protected]