The top 7 strangest UFO sightings over Basingstoke

From alleged flying saucer flight paths to mystery lights and Ministry of Defence involvement, here are some of the strangest reports to have appeared in the pages of the Gazette over the years.

1975: Basingstoke 'under a flying saucer flight path'

Perhaps the most extraordinary UFO story ever published by the Gazette appeared in October 1975.

British UFO reporter Ken Rogers claimed that Basingstoke residents should be watching the skies because the town sat beneath a major "flying saucer flight path".

Speaking to the Gazette, he suggested mysterious visitors from beyond Earth could soon be seen over the town.

He said: "You might find that farmers will report seeing strange glowing lights in their fields."

According to Mr Rogers, there had already been hundreds of UFO reports across Britain and he believed Hampshire's position made it a particularly interesting area.

He even suggested there was a connection between sightings reported along a line stretching from the Thames Estuary through the Second World War listening station at Wilsford.

The article also included reports from local residents.

One witness claimed to have seen a strange light pass over Reading before vanishing, while another reported seeing an object in the sky for around 10 minutes.

Not everyone was convinced.

Many of the reported sightings were eventually attributed to aircraft, weather conditions and even hot-air balloons.

But Mr Rogers remained unconvinced that all the reports could be explained away so easily.

"There seems to be some sort of connection between UFOs and the ancient sites," he told the Gazette.

More than 50 years later, Basingstoke still hasn't had its alien invasion.

At least, not officially.

1975: Residents report mystery lights in the sky

Not everyone was convinced by claims that Basingstoke sat beneath a flying saucer highway.

Just weeks after predictions that alien visitors could soon arrive in North Hampshire, the Gazette was still receiving letters and reports about strange lights in the sky.

One Gazette article reported that unidentified objects had been seen around Reading and Newbury and discussed suggestions that Basingstoke lay beneath a line of unusual sightings stretching across southern England.

However, the same report also poured a bucket of cold water on some of the more extraordinary claims.

British UFO researcher Ken Rogers admitted that one sighting initially believed to be a UFO was later traced to a hot-air balloon.

The article also noted that many sightings could potentially be explained by aircraft, weather conditions or other natural phenomena.

Despite this, UFO enthusiasts continued to argue that there was enough unexplained evidence to keep an open mind.

1980: Calls to form a UFO group

By 1980, local interest in unexplained sightings had grown to the point where proposals were made to create a dedicated UFO group.

Long before internet forums and Facebook pages, residents wanted somewhere to discuss reports of mysterious objects and unexplained phenomena.

1987: Three friends report a UFO

In November 1987, residents across Basingstoke reported seeing what they believed to be a UFO above the town.

The Gazette reported that 18-year-old Nicholas Palmer spotted a mysterious object while waiting for his girlfriend outside the Bass House pub in the town centre. He described seeing an oblong-shaped craft with sharp points that moved erratically across the night sky for around 10 minutes.

Mr Palmer told the paper: "I seriously think it was a UFO."

Two other residents also reported seeing strange lights over the town that same evening, including Richard Faulkner, who was with his girlfriend when they noticed what he described as a cigar-shaped object hovering above north Basingstoke.

The sightings were serious enough that the Gazette contacted RAF Odiham for comment, although an RAF spokesman said nothing unusual had happened and could offer no explanation for the reports.

1996: UFOs versus the Ministry of Defence

Nearly a decade later, the subject appeared in the Gazette once again under the headline: "MoD v UFO in the woods".

In October 1996, a letter from Worting resident Steve Marriott discussed alleged UFO sightings near Tadley and referenced Ministry of Defence files relating to unusual incidents in the area.

Writing to the newspaper, Mr Marriott claimed Ministry of Defence documents confirmed reports of unexplained aerial phenomena and argued that UFOs were "real", citing both witness accounts and official records.

2000: Appeal for UFO witnesses

By the turn of the millennium, the Gazette was actively seeking information about unexplained sightings.

A feature titled "Call for UFO witnesses" urged anyone who had spotted something unusual in the sky to come forward.

Whether they were little green men or missing the latest aircraft technology was left open to debate.

2008: The great UFO invasion that was... A wedding

One of Basingstoke's most memorable modern UFO scares began with reports of mysterious lights hovering over the town.

Residents spotted strange glowing objects in the sky and quickly began speculating about extraterrestrial visitors.

The reports became so widespread that neither air traffic controllers nor the Ministry of Defence were initially able to explain what people were seeing.

One witness, David Osborne, said he watched the lights moving in formation from Odiham towards Basingstoke.

He told the Gazette: "They were bright orange and high in the sky. I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Another resident, Reg Lockyer, also reported seeing unusual lights and said: "I couldn't believe it. I was absolutely shocked."

The mystery was eventually solved by newlyweds Glenn and Cody West.

The couple revealed that friends had released between 30 and 40 illuminated Chinese-style lanterns during celebrations at Audleys Wood Hotel.

Mr West jokingly admitted: "We let off these paper Chinese lanterns – about 30 or 40 of them went across the top of the hotel and up and that's all it was."

His explanation brought an end to speculation about alien spacecraft, although not before Basingstoke briefly found itself at the centre of a full-blown flying saucer scare.

As Mr West put it: "Every couple had to do one thing to be remembered.

"They did look like something from outer space because there were so many of them."

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