Lancashire has been named one of the UK's top UFO hotspots

The revelation surfaced after a Freedom of Information request to the RAF, whose records revealed that more UFO sightings have been reported in Lancashire than anywhere else in Britain, with the exception of London and Kent.

According to the FOI data, which has been collated by Fresh Student Living researchers, 24 sightings were reported in Lancashire in a single year and 54 in London (the data does not say which year it is referring to).

As far as Lancashire is concerned, we're not at all surprised that our cosmic neighbours favour our fair county for a bit of interstellar sightseeing. In fact, we have reported on a number of Lancastrians over the years who believe they have witnessed otherworldly phenomenon in the night sky.

With this in mind, and in honour of Lancashire being named one of the UK's UFO hotspots, we revisit some of Lancashire's classic UFO sightings.

The Preston Prison UFO

If you had gazed at the night sky above Preston in the early hours of February 20, 2020, you might have spotted a bright white object flashing over the city's rooftops.

The mysterious object was caught on camera by Preston woman Gail Jacques, who said she first caught sight of it above Preston Prison at around 1.30am.

She said the object remained stationary in the air for several minutes before "moving really fast".

Gail, a retired production operative at Royal Sanders at Red Scar, said she immediately snapped pictures of the curious object.

Her bid to uncover the true identity of the 'Preston Prison UFO' led her to share them with friends on social media.

"Did anyone else see this over Preston Prison? It was so strange.

"It was too fast and precise for a helicopter. It moved so quick, in seconds!," said Gail.

The pictures generated fierce debate online, with intrigued Prestonians discussing possible explanations.

You can read more about this sighting here.

UFOs over Avenham Park? Preston man tells of his close encounter

In January 2020, a Preston man described seeing a strange bright object floating over Avenham Park - minutes after a separate 'UFO' sighting a few miles away.

The man, a PhD student at UCLan, claims he saw the unidentified flying object on Sunday night while out walking his dog.

The 31-year-old, who works for HMRC as a tax assessor, says the object was about 100 metres above the ground.

A separate sighting of a similar object was reported at roughly the same time - around 9pm in nearby Wigan.

"I'd gone out to walk the dog on Sunday night and was walking through Avenham Park," said the man.

"It was a very bright object, like some like of aircraft. I was terrified.

"I consider myself to be an intelligent person, I'm studying for a PhD at UCLan, and I have never seen anything like this before.

"When I got home I called BAE to ask if they were conducted tests in the area but they said there weren't."

You can read more about this sighting here.

Lancashire man claims to have 'proof' that aliens have visited Preston

In December 2018, a man approached the Lancashire Post saying he had 'proof' that extraterrestrials had visited Preston.

According to the warehouse worker Craig Megson, from Barnoldswick, the truth was out there - right above the rooftops of Fishergate.

A life-long UFO enthusiast, Craig came forward with footage that he believed showed a fleet of alien spacecraft flying over Fishergate.

The 35-year-old said the footage, filmed in February 2018, is 'compelling evidence' for the existence of extraterrestrials.

Craig said he had been returning home from a day out in Blackpool with his 6-year-old son when his eyes were drawn to the skies above the railway station, towards Avenham Park.

You can view Craig's footage in our video at the top of the article. Let us know what you think in our Facebook comments!

You can read more about what he saw here.

Top secret files reveal probe into UFO spotted near Blackpool's Central Pier

In 2008, military top brass were allegedly called in to investigate pictures of UFOs taken by a holidaymaker in Blackpool.

Details of the sighting were released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) after it declassified large swathes of its top secret dossier on UFOs.

The three snapshots were sent to the RAF’s Air Command unit by a tourist, who said: "I have recently downloaded some photos ... which upon closer inspection revealed some aircraft which I could not identify at the time [or] could hear or see."

The air force said no manoeuvres had been taking place in Blackpool at that time - 2.51pm on Friday, October 3, 2008 - when the pictures were taken close to Central Pier.

But after being scrutinised, internal documents revealed experts didn’t believe the ‘aircraft’ came from another world.

"However, clearly without being there we can’t be definitive," they cautiously added.

You can read more about this sighting here.

Fun 'facts' about UFOs

When is the best time to spot a UFO?

If you’re wondering how to look for UFOs, it turns out most reported sightings don’t happen in the early hours of the morning as most movies suggest.

According to the RAF archives, most sightings occur between 8pm and midnight across the UK, with the bulk of reports coming in between those hours. Between 10pm and 11pm appears to be the sweet spot, with almost 100 sightings across the UK during that one-hour window.

Do you believe the truth is out there?

In a 2018 YouGov poll, around 36% of Brits said they believe in extra-terrestrials against 29% who said they don’t, with the remaining 35% undecided on the matter.

The poll did show that at 43%, the largest group of believers are under the age of 34, and that men are more likely to believe than women.

2019 saw a surge in sightings

UFO sightings in the UK – and across the world – skyrocketed last year when people took to Twitter to report a mysterious string of lights in the sky, with many speculating that it could be aliens.

Similar reports have been coming in ever since, but the source of many of these sightings is thanks to Elon Musk and his Starlink fleet, as we reported in April.

SpaceX has been launching batches of satellites into orbit since last year. The goal is to have launched 12,000 by mid-2020 in a bid to provide the world with global internet coverage.

Thanks to Fresh Student Living for providing us with the data and map graphic for this story.