Basingstoke May Be The New UK UFO Hotspot

Is there a prize for being designated as the world’s newest (or biggest or fastest-growing) UFO hotspot? Even if there isn’t, the fine folks of Basingstoke, England, may want to put their name in the running. A recent video showing five lights moving in a line is the latest in a string of UFO reports in that southeast England town since 2008, as well as others in the 1980s and 70s. What’s up, Basingstoke?

The latest sighting comes from MUFON and was reported by Express.co.uk, which also noted some of the previous sightings in Basingstoke. Along with the video (seen here), the unnamed witness submitted a report (portions here – misspellings in original)

"i have ruled out them being any kind of servilian craft as these would have had some sort of flashing light on them and with it being dark and foggy we would have seen this. it couldnt have been search lights shinning up from the ground as we could clearly see the lights surface area getting wider as it shon down meaning the light source was in the sky … the sighting lasted around 30mins and managed to take around 4mins of video"

Fortunately, the good people of Basingstoke keep their cellphones locked and loaded. In April 2016, uploaded this video of four red blinking lights he saw near the Basingstoke train station. Chinese lanterns?

It looks like one common thread in these Basingstoke sightings is the lights. Another witness took this video of a dozen orange lights overhead on a night in June 2008 between 10.40pm and 11.10pm

That time of the night may be a common theme as well. There were reportedly numerous sightings on night in May 2012 at around 10:30 pm. That incident elicited a government response that hints at what at least some of these sightings might be. The RAF Odiham helicopter base is nearby in Hampshire and had choppers in the sky that night, although no one admit responsibility.

Not all of the Basingstoke sightings were lights. A famous photograph (seen here) taken of a sighting in June 2013 of two discs was examined by former Ministry of Defence UFO expert Nick Pope, who said:

"It's one of the best UFO photos I've seen for a while. The shape and colour seems to rule out things like aircraft lights or Chinese lanterns.”

The news report said this was the second sighting in Basingstoke in 2013, following another in February.

Going back to August, 12 1983, a 77-year-old man was fishing on the Basingstoke Canal when he claimed a disc-shaped UFO landed near him and two English-speaking humanoids took him on the ship, examined him and let him go back to fishing because he was “too old.”

Other than the RAF helicopter base, there doesn’t seem to be anything in Basingstoke that would cause so many UFO sightings. Sure, it has artifacts dating back to the Paleolithic era, but so do many other English towns. There’s no nuclear plant or precious metal mines nearby – it sits on a mound of chalk and clay. It’s the birthplace of Jane Austen. Are aliens fans of her novels?

Whatever the cause, Basingstoke residents are wise to keep their cellphones charged and ready, and always tell humanoids doing probes that you’re older than you look.