UFOs reported to Essex Police highlighted in data

In a Freedom of Information Request submitted by Newsquest's AI team, there were multiple reported UFO sightings in north Essex to police from 2018 to 2023.

In 2020 a member of the public reported seeing three objects in the sky in Colchester.

The report states “They were not aircraft and were too big to be drones”. The first lights were described as “being like a fireball” and all three objects were said to be “travelling in the same direction and speed”.

Also in 2020, Essex Police received a call from a member of the public who claimed to see 30 balls of light in formation in Colchester.

In 2021 in Colchester, the police received a call about 27 plain white lights seen going over a road in a straight line.

In 2022, at Stansted Airport, three aircraft reported an object in their vicinity.

Two planes reported an object about 500ft below them as they were coming into land. The objects were highlighted on the pilot's systems but, when looking for the objects, the pilots saw nothing.

In Clacton, in 2022 a red flashing light was seen stationary in the sky and a member of the public reported “feeling uneasy” whilst contacting police.

In 2023, Essex Police received contact from a member of the public in Colchester who claimed to have seen an oval-shaped unidentified flying object.

The person who reported it said: “I have no explanation as to what this object could be”.

Susan Vousden, a Holland-on-Sea resident who filmed a UFO in 2002, said: “I had a bath that evening and I had my hair wrapped up in a towel and had just sat down on the bed when I saw it.

“All of a sudden I saw an orange thing going straight across my eyeline.

Spotted- UFO captured by Susan Vousden (Image: Susan Vousden)

“At the time I had one of those new camcorders. I called out to my husband, but he didn’t hear me.

“I got the camcorder out and I recorded five minutes of it.

“The other sighting I had was in 2014. I can see the marshes from my house and could see an object in the sky.

“It was very low and dark and very triangular shaped with dim white lights. I couldn’t get over it how quickly it went away.

“I had my hand over my eyes because I was scared and peeped through them.

“I phoned up the police and got in touch with the coastguard at the time to see if anything was out.

“No one has to feel silly about anything. I think it’s important that if people see something that’s strange I think it should be mentioned. It’s a very interesting subject and I’ve never forgotten it.

David Young is an Essex-based radio presenter who hosts his own show, Strange Phenomena Investigations, doing his own paranormal investigations.

He said: “I saw a UFO in 1967, it was a big orange object, I’ve found they’re very common actually after speaking to lots of people about it.

“They’re pretty common in Essex and there’s a group I go to once a month to discuss them.

“I don’t know what the police can actually do about it. I suppose it is something invading our airspace but it’s more to do with the Civil Aviation Authority.

“If you see something you should report it.”