'Rocket-type object' spotted flying 'extremely fast' above the clouds over Hartlepool

Richard Ault
·4-min read
A mock-up picture showing a person looking out at bright lights that could be UFOs
-Credit: (Image: The Gazette)


A "rocket-type object” spotted flying above the clouds over Hartlepool is among 'UFO sightings' in the UK and USA.

The US Congress has been attempting to “pull back the curtain” on secret research into UFOs - as our maps show the places in the UK and America most likely to be visited by extra-terrestrials. The hearing, titled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Exposing the Truth,” heard from several experts and a variety of witness accounts. Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) is the new name for Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

Experts included government workers and a member of NASA’s UAP Independent Study Team. Michael Gold - former NASA associate administrator of space policy and partnerships and a member of the UAP study team - told the hearing that “the vast majority of UAP are drones”.

READ MORE: 'Slurring' holistic therapist who 'staggered' from car slapped with SECOND driving ban

READ MORE: Man arrested after 'violent altercation' near pub as police appeal for information on black Mercedes

However, he added that there are anomalies that must be studied and admitted that some of the UAPs observed “can move faster” than US submarines and “are being intelligently controlled”. Author and former Department of Defence official Luis Elizondo claimed that “advanced technologies not made by our government - or any other government - are monitoring sensitive military installations around the globe.”

He insisted: “Let me be clear. UAP are real.” The hearing, jointly led by Chairs Nancy Mace and Glenn Grothman, was the second to investigate the phenomenon of UAP.

“Americans deserve to understand what the government has learned about UAP sightings, and the nature of any potential threats these phenomena pose,” the co-chairs said in a statement. The hearing followed a long-awaited report released by NASA last year which studied previous sightings of UFOs (or UAPs) in the skies.

While the report did not find any clear evidence that the sightings were alien, it did admit it was possible they could be. Last year the British spotter group UFO Identified documented a total of 395 sightings in the UK in 2023.

That was a 20% drop from 497 UFO sightings in 2022 and also lower than in 2021 (413) and 2020 (484). It found that people in the North West had the best chance of seeing a UFO last year, with 41 sightings across the region, followed by the South East (40) and then the South West (39).

You can see what UFO encounters have been reported where you live using our interactive map.

Sightings documented in the UK included:

  • A “long cigar-shaped craft with three or four roundish patterns on it” was observed for 20 minutes before it “vanished like a light being switched off” above Chester in Cheshire in October last year.

  • A “rocket-type object” was spotted flying above the clouds over Hartlepool “extremely fast and soundless with flames over the front” in November 2022.

  • A 30ft to 40ft wide “round saucer-like object with detailed outer rim” was seen “hovering over a house” in Bedworth, Warwickshire, in January.

Just under half of all documented sightings (48%) include photographic or video evidence. A quarter of all sightings (25%) were of a “star-like” object or objects, moving across the sky. The next most common sighting was of an unidentified object shaped like an “orb” (17%), “sphere”, (10%) and “cylinder” (9%).

Of all counties in the UK, Greater Manchester had more UFOs spotted in its skies than anywhere else, with 54 documented sightings. That was followed by Greater London (52), Cheshire (37), and West Sussex (34).

When it comes to towns and cities, more UFO activity was seen above Glasgow than anywhere else, with 22 encounters. Separate research by the UFO spotter website Enigma has documented more than 200,000 unexplained encounters above the skies of the USA.

More UFOs have been spotted in California than any other US state, just over 28,000. California is followed by Florida (14,500), Texas (12,500) and New York (10,000). But those states have the highest populations in the US - meaning there are more people to watch the skies, and more likely that someone will see something they can’t explain.

Taking population size into account, residents of New Mexico are most likely to have seen a UFO. For every 100,000 people, there are 162 sightings. That’s the equivalent of one in 618 people encountering a UFO.

Go here for more what's on updates, news and reviews from around Teesside

Latest stories

  • Humpback whale’s spectacular breach is sadly revealing; photos

    A humpback whale that had been thrilling boaters off Newport Beach, Ca., for several days breached for a prolonged period Sunday, revealing that the mammal is hardly free and thriving. The accompanying Instagram post by Mark Girarde

  • Elon Musk Gloats as Trump Announces Billionaires Will Be Exempt From Normal Environmental Rules

    SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is dancing with joy now that his new father figure has promised him that he will no longer have to abide by pesky environmental rules. On Tuesday, president-elect Donald Trump announced in a Truth Social post that the government would be for sale after all, promising that any company investing $1 billion in the US government would "receive fully expedited approvals and permits, including, but in no way limited to, all Environmental approvals." "GET READY TO ROCK!!!" Trump ex

  • How Labour’s bin collection chaos could be coming to your street

    Head to the leafy North Somerset town of Nailsea and among the well-kept bungalows and family homes is a definite pride in keeping up appearances. Bins are stacked tidily in people’s front yards, the pavements are clean and there is little obvious fly-tipping or litter.

  • Miliband bails out wind turbine factory as demand for blades tumbles

    Ministers have been forced to step in and rescue a wind turbine factory after collapsing demand for blades pushed it to near collapse.

  • Wild boars the size of a ‘small car’ advancing on Scottish city

    Wild boars that can grow to the size of a “small car” are now roaming within a mile of Inverness as their population in the Scottish Highlands grows.

  • Met Office forecasts snow over Christmas period as more unsettled weather to come

    Forecaster says a white Christmas may not be out of the question in parts of the UK this year

  • Why are Britain’s winters now so wet? Experts explain

    Last year was the eighth-wettest in British history - and with more rain forecast in the coming days, will this be another washout winter?

  • Satellite Images of Syrian Ports Reveal Russian Movements, Damage to Vessels

    Before and after imagery of various Syrian ports and airfields reveals Russian military movements and damage to Russian naval vessels, after the fall of the Assad regime.In satellite imagery sent to Storyful from Maxar Technologies, warships can be seen docked at a Russian naval facility in Tartus, Syria. On Tuesday, December 10, those ships are gone.Other satellite imagery taken on Tuesday shows at least two Russian frigates redeployed off Syria’s coast.“Most of the Russian naval vessels have departed their traditional positions at their base in the port of Tartus,” Maxar said. “Two Russian frigates have redeployed offshore of the port, between 7 to 12 kilometers (4 to 7 miles) west and northwest of Tartus.”More images taken on Tuesday at Latakia, another Syrian port city, show destroyed Syrian warships “reportedly caused by recent airstrikes that were designed to destroy the former regime’s naval fleet,” Maxar said.Late on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had carried out strikes against “strategic weapons stockpiles” in Syria, including the Al-Bayda port and the Latakia port, “where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked.”Russian aircraft, helicopters, and other military equipment remained in place at the Khmeimim airbase near Latakia, according to Maxar images. Large groups of cars, trucks, and people can be seen gathered at the adjacent civilian side of the airfield. Credit: Maxar Technologies via Storyful

  • What we know about the Christmas weather forecast

    Most Britons hoping for a white Christmas this year are likely to be disappointed, if the Met Office's latest predictions are anything to go by.

  • Rapid action against invasive bee-killing hornet has halted spread, study finds

    The National Bee Unit responds to public sightings of the yellow-legged or Asian hornet to destroy insects and nests.

  • Malibu wildfire: Cher and Dick Van Dyke among 20,000 fleeing Franklin Fire in California

    Dick Van Dyke says he’s ‘praying’ for his Serra Retreat community and cat that’s gone missing as he and wife fled their home

  • ‘A really stocky, powerful-looking little animal:’ Scientists are gaining precious clues about the world’s rarest whale

    Anton van Helden, an expert on some of the world’s rarest whales, was sitting on the couch in July recovering from surgery, when a photo flashed on his phone that would change the course of his career.

  • 'So much injustice': Decision finally made on village green application

    After a drawn-out dispute which was described as “torturous” for local residents, it seems a piece of land near Trowbridge will not be named a village green.

  • Humpback whale makes record journey of more than 13,000km from South America to Africa

    Research done with the help of citizen science shows male humpback completed almost twice the typical migration distance

  • BP and Equinor to build major carbon capture projects in North East

    The projects could bring 2,000 jobs to Teesside.

  • Festive Treats Get London Zoo Animals Into the Christmas Spirit

    London Zookeepers reported that Christmas had “come early” for some of its residents, kicking off the season with festive treats and perfumed gifts for the animals in its care.The zoo shared adorable footage of its endangered Asiatic lion couple, Bhanu and Arya, and their nine-month-old cubs, Mali, Synali, and Shanti, enjoying the cubs’ first holiday season. The lions were gifted “golden presents perfumed with frankincense and myrrh fragrances.”“These scented gifts are novel offerings to encourage the lions to put their great sense of smell to the test, exploring the unfamiliar smell and the wrapped present boxes,” the zoo said in a press release.Other footage shows the zoo’s group of Black-capped squirrel monkeys diving into advent calendars, each filled with insects, nuts, and seeds “for an incredible breakfast to start the day.”“The boxes will offer the highly dexterous monkeys new challenging ways to search for their food, utilising their excellent foraging skills to open the cardboard advent presents,” the zoo said.The zoo was offering nighttime sleepovers at their lodges through December, which include “wintery treats and mulled wine, and nighttime tour of the Zoo, and special gifts for children on arrival.” Credit: ZSL London Zoo via Storyful

  • Met Office says 'sleet and snow' likely in long-range Christmas forecast

    There has only been a proper white Christmas four times in the UK since 1960

  • Plans for contentious mixed use development on edge of Island village resubmitted

    Stephen Hucklesby's amended proposals include 60 residential units with a minimum 35 per cent of the homes classed as "affordable housing".

  • Southern California forecast of cool temps, calm winds to help firefighters battle Malibu blaze

    Cooler temperatures, calmer winds and a chance of rainfall in Southern California this week are forecast to help firefighters as they battle a wind-driven blaze in steep, rugged terrain that's driven thousands, including celebrities, from their homes in Malibu. The weather improved so much Wednesday that meteorologists said all red flag warnings, which indicate conditions for high fire danger and the notorious Santa Ana winds, were discontinued. The conditions allowed firefighters to have “a lot of success” despite the nearly inaccessible terrain, CalFire Assistant Chief Dusty Martin said.

  • Mutual's solar carports to provide vehicle shelter and green energy

    Yorkshire Building Society is installing solar panels in its head office car park in Bradford.