UFO spotted over UK nuclear plant

20 August 2009

Newly released UK government files of reported sightings of UFOs - Unidentified Flying Objects - include a 1993 sighting of something strange hovering over the Hartlepool nuclear power station. The object was seen in the skies over the Teeside and Cleveland area of northeast England on several occasions in March 1993. As well as hovering above the power plant, it had also been seen over local chemical plants and military installations. A response from the UK Ministry of Defence at the time confirmed that nothing had been picked up on local air control radar but suggested a possible theory of car headlights reflecting off an atmospheric inversion layer (formed when an area of warm air meets an area of cooler air, producing a hazy mist). A report in local Hartlepool newspaper the Peterlee Mail claims that UFO sightings over nuclear installations are not uncommon. 'Ufologist' Richard D Hall, also a columnist on the paper, was quoted as saying "There is a history of UFOs taking an interest in nuclear energy so the sighting in Hartlepool is not a surprise," although he would not speculate on any likely reason for the mysterious craft's interest in the plant. The government files covering a range of UFO-related documents covering the years 1981-1996 are currently available on the website of the UK National Archives.