TODAY is National Alien Day and, according to research by YouGov, one in two people are believers.

There have been numerous sightings in and around Worcester over the years, including a UFO flying over Ronkswood in 2015 – amateur video footage of which was captured by resident Luke Gregg.

Six years ago, retired West Midlands Police detective John Hanson, of Bromsgrove, spoke to the Worcester News about his 20-year fascination with UFOs after colleagues saw a ‘spaceship’ in Birmingham.

With the help of friend Dawn Holloway, Mr Hanson then began compiling research and witness accounts, before publishing numerous books which many libraries have since stocked.

Margaret Webb, a member of Worcestershire-based UFO group Sky Scan, believed she saw a UFO in her Comer Road garden in 1974, while St John’s resident Trevor Jones claims to have seen a spaceship fly over his roof in 1975.

More than 20 years before, in 1952, two witnesses claimed to see a space ship “emitting a weird green phosphorescent glow” at 2,500 feet, flying at an estimated 600mph over the Malvern Hills.

According to an FOI request, between 2013 and 2017, West Mercia Police has only received four emergency calls regarding UFO sightings.

An object with lights and flames, flying low before landing in a tree, a UFO moving erratically in the sky with lights on and doing 90-degree turns and a craft emitting a “loud screaming noise” were all reported to police.

On March 7, 2016 “strange lights” were reported in Shrewsbury at 1.17am but this was established to be a helicopter.

Have you ever seen a UFO?