ON DUTY police officers saw a UFO near Hamsterley Forest, according to newly released “X-files”.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) files, four Durham Police officers spotted a three-dimensional diamond shape, about the size of a large helicopter, hovering above a field near Hamsterley Forest.
The officers, who were about to carry out a dog training exercise when they spotted the object, reported the incident to Durham Police air support unit.
They said they spotted the object flying between 100 metres and 200 metres away from them. It was described as having a green light on either side and a red and white light on the centre of the body.
The sighting, which took place in September 2005, lasted for about two minutes and officers claimed it moved away to the north when their car’s lights shone on it.
Another officer who was with them said he did not see the UFO.
The incident was one of thousands recorded by the MoD between 1965 and 2008. Hitherto top secret documents running to 6,700 pages were released last week. Included were documents revealing former prime minister Tony Blair received a briefing on UFOs from the MoD because of his concerns over the disclosure of classified information on alien life forms.
A spokeswoman for Durham Police said: “The current database doesn’t go back that far so we have no further details of this incident. When we get a call about something we log the report and contact air traffic control. We also check with the RAF search and rescue in case what was reported is a light aircraft going down.
“Quite often it ends up being Chinese lanterns.”
In January, the Teesdale Mercury reported a UFO sighting between Gainford and Barnard Castle. An elderly couple claimed to have seen a flying saucer shaped object with steel tentacles, which glowed underneath. The incident happened in 2010.
In March a man reported he saw an object in the shape of Big Ben’s clock face floating over Cockfield. And Orange balls of light were spotted above Barnard Castle in 2009.
