They're probably among the strangest calls to police in Cumbria in recent times.

Claims involving an "alien craft", a low flying object and UFOs have left call handlers at the county force scratching their heads in bafflement.

But whether it was the Solway Spaceman preparing for another landing - or simply a plane mistaken for something more mysterious, each has been officially logged with the county force.

A Freedom of Information request from CN Group reveals the number of times police in Cumbria have been told about a suspected UFO or alien sighting in recent years.

The results make for interesting reading if you are a sci-fi buff - or just would like to know if there really is anybody out there.

The files reveal that in October 2009, a caller in Carlisle contacted police with some possibly extra-terrestrial concerns.

The log reads: "Caller has just seen a UFO which faded away to nothing.

"It was an orange light in the sky which stopped above houses opposite the caller's house - then disappeared."

In August 2011, Wigton was the scene for an unsettling experience for one person.

The police log in this case reads: "Caller rang to report they have seen an alien craft over their house at 8.20pm tonight which caller has filmed."

The description of the object is a "cylindrical flying object which seemed to hover and then disappear".

Carlisle was the setting for a call in April 2010.

The police files say: "Caller thinks they have seen a UFO in the sky at 9pm.

"UFO was to the north west of planet Venus."

A month later, police were contacted by a concerned resident, again in Carlisle.

The log reads: "At 10pm caller saw a glow in the sky like a triangular shape."

It was, say the files, "orange on the outside, yellow on the inside".

The log adds: "It was moving very fast. There was no noise at all. It was moving in a south west to north east direction."

The focus shifts to rural north Cumbria in the next sighting.

Here a resident rang to say that "while travelling from Mosedale to Caldbeck" they had "seen a strange orange light in the sky".

This was, they said, "not from an aircraft".

The most detailed of the police logs comes after an apparent lull in strange sightings.

In July 2014 police received a call, their files stating: "Caller contacted at 12.19am reporting that they had just seen a low flying object in the sky above them with green and red lights flashing.

"The object flew from side to side very low, approximately 400 to 500ft, before flying north towards Carlisle.

"The object was silent as caller opened the window and there was no sound.

"The caller stated the object was the size of a jumbo jet. The caller had never seen anything like it."

Philip Mantle is an author, lecturer and researcher of unidentified flying objects.

He said six UFO sightings over the course of this time was "a little on the low side" for somewhere as large as Cumbria.

But he added: "Six sightings made to the police is pretty good.

"Most UFO sightings go unreported.

"Those that are reported are not always reported to officials such as the police.

"People who do report UFO sightings are more likely to contact local or national UFO research groups, failing that their local media.

"But again, I must stress that most UFO sightings go unreported."

Mr Mantle called for anyone who has experienced a sighting to contact him.

He added: "As an active UFO researcher, author and as one of Britain's leading UFO investigators, I personally have not received any UFO reports from Cumbria of late.

"However, as we have already mentioned, most people tend to keep such sightings to themselves.

"I would be only too pleased to hear from anyone who has had a UFO sighting or a close encounter or has taken film or photographs of UFOs."

Contact him at: philip.mantle@gmail.com

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Cumbria's close encounters

For those tempted to scoff, Cumbria punches above its weight when it comes to sightings of UFOs and potential alien visitors.

Here are some of Cumbria's close encounters:

  • The Solway Spaceman

It was an early summer afternoon when Carlisle fireman Jim Templeton took his family for an outing to Burgh Marsh in 1964.

Little did they know that their trip was to make global headlines after Jim took a photo of his five-year-old daughter, which appeared to show a spaceman in the background.

No-one in the group saw anyone else on the marsh that day.

The photo, which was reproduced in a book by Mr Templeton, led to investigations by the police and Ministry of Defence but an explanation has never been found.

  • Cumbria's Roswell Incident

Did a UFO crash on the fells back in the 1950s - giving the county its own Roswell Incident?

A claim has been investigated that a UFO crashed into an unspecified location, believed to be near Workington, in 1954.

The claim was made by an eyewitness and looked into by UFO experts.

It has been suggested this is similar to the world-famous Roswell Incident in Mexico in 1947, when it was alleged two UFOs crashed into each other. The wreckage was said to include alien bodies.

  • Ministry of Defence files reveal Cumbrian incidents

Information released in 2013 revealed details of cases left on a Ministry of Defence UFO hotline.

These included one from an unnamed man in Carlisle who reported he had been “living with an alien for some time”.

The report, compiled after the message was left in June 2008, says the man described how he had seen a UFO above his house.

“[He] said he definitely has an alien among him (sic) and that things move around the house,” according to the details logged on the form.

The Ministry of Defence closed the UFO hotline in 2009, saying they had no evidence of a potential threat from UFOs in the 50 years it had been operating.

The MoD said it did not investigate each sighting.

According to the official MoD UFO reports, other sightings in Cumbria included:

– A report on Christmas Day in 2008, when five bright lights were reported to be moving across the sky, north of Carlisle, heading west.

– At Beckfoot, near Silloth, a “definite UFO” was seen on December 17 2007.

It was described as elongated and amber in colour before changing to white when it speeded up and “became very bright”.

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Does this video show a UFO in the sky over Cumbria?

A glowing light beams brightly through the darkness as it appears to slowly glide across the Cumbrian night sky.

The striking sight causes at least one person on the ground to pause, wonder - and film the object as it cruises above.

Posting on YouTube, identifying themselves by the title Space Bound, the spotter poses the question: Is this a UFO?

See the video here:

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