Bristol has been named among the UK’s official UFO hotspots, according to research. Edinburgh, London and Leicester took the top spots based on the number of UFO sightings, with Bristol coming in ninth.
A study of 2,000 adults found 18 per cent of residents in Edinburgh are convinced they’ve had a legitimate sighting. They are also most likely to believe aliens exist somewhere in the universe, even if they’ve never spotted one.
Nationally, almost half (48 per cent) believe aliens exist and 10 per cent think they’ve witnessed something out of the ordinary, with six in 10 (59 per cent) of these believing it was alien in origin.
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The research was commissioned by National Geographic, ahead of the launch of new documentary series UFO’s: Investigating the Unknown, which airs on the channel from today (Tuesday May 2) at 8pm. Viewers will be taken on a journey to uncover the truth behind the mysterious UFO phenomena that has captivated humanity for generations, as the top-secret Pentagon programme on UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena) of the US government is exposed.
Nick Pope, who investigated UFOs for the Ministry of Defence, said: “UFOs are big news now, and a lot of people are reporting - and sometimes filming - extraordinary things. While many people are convinced these sightings involve alien life, most cases turn out to be misidentifications.
“The chances are that there's intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and even though the vast distances make direct contact a challenge, encountering an alien civilization would be the biggest story in human history.” The study found that cities in the north were much more likely to harbour UFO spotters – with just Bristol and London appearing in the top 10, from down south.
TOP 10 CITIES WITH THE MOST UFO SIGHTINGS:
1. Edinburgh
2. Leicester
3. London
4. Sheffield
5. Newcastle
6. Leeds
7. Manchester
8. Birmingham
9. Bristol
10. Glasgow
Three in 10 (31 per cent) of all adults polled per cent believe humankind will at some point make contact with aliens from another planet or galaxy. Londoners were most likely to believe in this eventuality, followed by those in Newcastle.
UFO-believers in Leicester also most often believe they’ve found actual evidence or had an experience proving the existence of aliens. Of those who do believe in UFOs, 26 per cent just have a ‘gut feeling’ telling them it’s so.
Another 12 per cent find it comforting to believe there’s other alien species out there just waiting to be discovered. One in three respondents would like to see the Ministry of Defence’s UFO Project, which investigated reports of UFO sightings, re-opened – as it closed in 2009.
And more than four in 10 (42 per cent) suspect the government is keeping information around UFOs a well concealed secret. If the earth were to be visited by aliens, 41 per cent think they’d be here to carry out scientific study and 21 per cent fear they’d be harvesting the planet for raw materials.
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