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All of the strange UFO sightings in Kent over the years from strange lights to unexplained objects
Do aliens exist? A question that has sparked conversation and debate for countless generations, and will likely continue to do so for countless more.
Whether you are a believer yourself or not, it hard to deny that the thought of life beyond our little blue planet is fascinating. Across the globe, there have been reported sightings relating to extraterrestrials and Unidentified Flying Objects, more commonly known as UFOs, throughout history.
Such sightings range from intriguing to outright ludicrous in many instances, and while a definitive answer is yet to be found regarding alien life, it’s certainly fun to think about.
Read more: The most haunted places in Kent
Kent has been no exception to sightings over the decades, with around 100 reported cases on government record. In fact, just earlier this year a pair of mysterious lights spotted above Maidstone left one local very puzzled.
UFOs have been mentioned in the UK since the 1950s, investigated by the Air Ministry which was then replaced by the Ministry of Defence. The UK Government has never taken part in any long term monitoring of reports, and the MoD works on the assumption that almost every UFO report has a natural, human, explanation.
The British UFO Research Association (BUFORA) was formed in 1962 to document, and try to explain, sightings up and down the country. They believe that every report made can be explained by the following sources:
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40 per cent of reports are actually aircraft,
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33 per cent of reports are actually stars and planets spotted in the sky,
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10 per cent of reports are satellites and meteors entering the atmosphere,
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8 per cent are described as being caused by ‘other’ causes, like birds, solar flares and clouds,
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5 per cent of reports are actually weather or research balloons,
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2 per cent are hoax reports,
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2 per cent are chalked up as being hallucinations.
Close Encounters of the Kent kind
Beyond the aforementioned strange lights seen above Maidstone back in March, there have been a number of other intriguing cases in Kent over the years. In August 2021, a strange object emitting a mysterious glow was filmed above North Kent.
Stephen Sangster, 39, from Orpington was filming the night sky before noticing something rather peculiar. The footage shows a glow which appears to be travelling to the right before turning and flying towards the left.
In the first few seconds of the video a trail can be seen behind the white glow, as if it was some kind of firework. However, as the mysterious object changes direction, the brightness also intensifies.
In September 2017 the people of Tonbridge were mystified when an eerie aura-like light descended upon the town.
Explanations for the eerie phenomenon ranged from aliens, aluminium in the atmosphere, and the Aurora itself. And in 2012, BUFORA recorded the sighting of a ‘rare and unusual shape’ flying through the sky in Wingham, near Canterbury.
It was described as: “A solid object – dark grey/black. It was pointed at the front and square like to the back, it had about five sides, like a classic diamond icon. There was absolutely no way I can think of to explain what I saw, and I have seen most kinds of aircraft in flight.”
A record has been released from the government of all the UFO reports in the UK between 1997 to 2009. Here are all of the Kent sightings that were reported during that time.
Ashford
| Date /Time | Place | Report |
| 26/12/2008 – 7pm | Kennington | Orange shape travelling NW to SW at fair pace, 2000ft plus. Bright orange. Similar shape to inverted light bulb. There was no sound. |
| 04/04/2001 | Ashford | Three fob shaped objects bobbed about in the sky. |
| 21/09/2001 – 4am | Ashford | The ship/craft moved towards Ashford and then hovered over Ashford for some time. The craft was solid. |
| 21/09/2001 – 5.30am | Ashford | One triangular shaped object. The size of a 747, maybe bigger. It moved N-Easterly, then became stationary. |
| 12/09/1999 – 9.20pm | Sellindge | Bright light, not blinding, was heading South. |
| 13/08/1999 – no time reported | Tenterden | A large, brilliant light was stationary in the sky. It moved away fairly quickly and disappeared. |
Bexley
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 20/04/2007 – 9.30pm | Bexley | There were over fifty lights floating in the sky. They were red/orange in colour. |
| 03/08/1997 – 8.50pm | Bexley | A huge UFO. Part of it came down in the woods near Bexley. |
Bromley
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 26/01/2009 – 6.15pm | Bromley | Three orange lights in horizontal line above the opposite side of the hill. Stopped car but saw only four lights, two separate at the top & two close together at the bottom. Top two rose and disappeared. Second two moved higher then also vanished. |
| 11/04/2009 – 8.30pm | Bromley | A UFO. |
| 16/05/2009 – 9.50pm | Petts Wood | 8-10 bright red lights. They were hovering. They moved independently into the distance and disappeared when a light aircraft appeared. |
| 28/07/2009 – 9.30am | Bromley | Saw an orange, yellow object in the sky, with the shape similar to a hot air balloon. |
| 30/08/2009 – 12.10pm | Petts Wood | Saw eight orange single lights in the sky. Lights were very clear, single bright orange spot, which travelled at constant speed slowly higher into the eastern atmosphere. At first four lights in close proximity followed by four more with approx one minute. |
| 19/09/2009 – 7.40pm | Bromley | A bright orange light moving across the sky no noise. |
| 19/09/2009 – 9.01pm | West Wickham | Pilot: Series of 30 or more orange lights which then disappeared after moving at speed. |
| 17/10/2009 – 10.45pm | Orpington | Twenty-five lights red and orange with vapour trail, disappearing into blue green colours, spinning. |
| 17/11/2003 – 2.25am | Bromley | Police Officers/Police helicopter crew: There were 20-30 red flashing lights in the sky accompanied by a whirring noise. |
| 19/05/1997 – 11.17pm | Bromley | One round shaped object, double the size of a star. White (pale), but very bright. It was stationary for a while and then travelled straight and level. |
| 22/11/1997 – 5am | Beckenham | One, round shaped object. Had red, green and blue colours and was very bright. Was moving East. |
Canterbury
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 20/08/2009 – 2pm | Herne Bay | A UFO. |
| 31/08/2008 – 9.35pm | Littlebourne | Three very low, very bright lights were travelling in formation, then breaking off and doing acrobatics. Then a large globe-like object appeared and was changing colours in a pulsating way. |
| 27/08/2006 – 9.30pm | Herne Bay | Eight yellow/orange spheres that looked like they had flames coming out of the back of them. |
| 24/12/2005 – 9.20pm | Whitstable | Three bright, orange lights in the sky, and then a forth orange light appeared and followed the other three. |
| 27/12 – no year or time recorded | Whitstable | Strange lights were seen in the sky. |
| 21/07/1997 – 9.50pm | Sturry | Orange diffused light. Was slow moving. |
| 06/04/1999 – 2.45pm | M2 near Faversham | Lots of swirly white lights. 40-50 ft wide. Circular and very bright. Transparent like a jellyfish. Lights were coming and going. |
Dartford
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 03/11/2007 – no time recorded | Joyden’s Wood/Wilmington | Eight flying saucers were flying in a line. |
| 14/08/2003 – 6pm | Southfleet | Unusual object, with flashing lights but not like an aircrafts, more like reflections from the sun. No trail. |
| 28/05/2000 – 1.30am | Dartford | Six to seven, round, but flat objects. White and fairly bright – clearly visible. They made rapid, random movements. |
| 01/11/2000 – 9.31am | Dartford | One pinpoint of light, quite bright. Erratic movements, from side to side. |
| 29/11/1999 – 11.34pm | Dartford | Small light, too far away to ascertain shape. Glittering red, green and white. Did not move. |
Deal
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 27/09/2009 – 11.15am | Deal | Silver object in sky over Deal. |
| 02/09/2004 – 11.50pm | Deal | The object was very bright and was of large proportions. Large in velocity. |
| 06/11/1998 – 4am | Deal | Two white fireballs in the sky. First fireball went in an arc. Second fireball went vertically. |
| 05/08/1997 – 9.05am | Deal | A circular ball of white light. It was the brightness of a star. It was silent. It dropped down very fast and then blinked out. |
Dover
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 15/04/2009 – 8.30pm | Dover | Two objects, five minutes apart heading East to West. They looked like orange fiery balls but made no sound. They travelled at the speed of a plane. They had no tail. |
| No firm date – 7.15pm | Dover | There were half a dozen glowing lights. They were an orange fire colour and were globular. They were silent. Were moving across the sky at the speed of a helicopter. |
| 14/09/1997 – 10pm | Dover | A bright silver object, with red and green lights at the back. It changed to an egg shape, went bright yellow and then vanished. Moved quickly across the sky. |
Folkestone
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 30/05/2009 – 2.47am | Folkestone | A bright circular amber light, the size of a 2p coin. It was moving very slowly in a straight line but once it flew over the witnesses’ house it accelerated away very very quickly into the distance. It made no noise and left no vapour trail. |
| Sighting reported on 13/11/2008 but no firm date or time was given | Folkestone | There were lights in the sky that were circling in front of the witness’s house. They were in a half moon shape. |
| 28/01/2001 – 9.34am | Folkestone | A silver spin top, bobbing at a height of 300 feet. Was about the size of a football. |
| 25/07/2001 – 2.10pm | Folkestone | One circular object with flashing bright lights. Was at a high altitude. |
| 04/01/1999 – 6.30pm | Folkestone | Squashed oval shaped object. Did not have the usual aircraft lights on it. |
| 22/07/1998 – 11.44pm | Hythe | A squashed, elongated disc with a yellow glow. It faded and then brightened. |
| 09/04/2004 – 7.30pm | Dymchurch | Just said it was an object. That it was flying over very fast and then disappeared. |
| 10/07/1997 – 8pm | New Romney | Two objects. Orange, green and red colours. The object was flashing. It was static. |
Gravesend
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 19/02/2009 – 7.50pm | Gravesend | A ball of light with a few lights inside. It hovered over Gravesend for some 30 minutes. Too static for a helicopter. |
| 31/10/2009 – 11.58pm | Gravesend | Yellow assorted lights much brighter than an average star. |
| Sighting reported on 30/07/2008 but no firm date or time was given. | Gravesend | A light was hovering for ten minutes, showing off a very bright white light. Another object then joined it. They both went dim and disappeared. |
| 27/07/2003 – 6pm | Gravesend | Silver ball up in the sky for about an hour. Disappeared and then returned again about an hour later. |
| 29/05/2000 – 9.45pm | Gravesend | Eight objects, approx one metre in length. They were round/oval shaped. Light gold in colour. Fast, smooth, gliding movements. |
| 12/10/1998 – 12.30am | Gravesend | One global object that was pulsating and was very bright. |
Medway
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 26/09/2009 – 7.22pm | Chatham | Two orange balls of light. One ball of light was leading with the other two behind it. No sound of any engines. |
| 07/11/2009 – 11.30pm | Gillingham | Two UFOs. |
| 28/03/2008 – 8.20pm | Rainham | A huge disc shaped object. Approximately twenty times the size of an aeroplane. It had five or six flashing lights on the underneath in a circular shape. |
| 06/11/2008 – 8.10pm | Rainham | A UFO, that looked like a yellowy light. The object was quite near and fairly low down in the sky. There was no sound. |
| 22/11/2005 – no time recorded | Gillingham | Five lights in the sky, that looked very strange. The lights were flashing. |
| 06/08/2000 – 6.45pm | Rainham | One, possibly two small, flattened figure of eight objects, with links of red. Dull brightness. Was stationary then moved slowly. |
| 27/11/2000 – 10.11am | Rochester | A round object, that lit up the surrounding area. |
| 02/08/1997 – 8.47am | Rochester | A massive UFO. It broke up into two parts, that looked like fire balls. There was broken movement. |
| 25/07/1997 – 12.45am | Rochester | Nine to twelve, round white lights. They were moving rapidly and appeared to collide. |
| 19/04/2009 – 8.40pm | Snodland | An oval shaped glowing red object, in two dimensions. It spun in one direction then reversed and swung in the other. |
Maidstone
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 21/04/2009 – 9.34pm | Maidstone | Lights rising from the ground into the sky, much like debris from a fire. However lights were too intense to be a fire. Seen in the direction of the North Downs from Maidstone. |
| 02/08/2009 – 9.45pm | Aylesford | Large orange glow in sky, moving slowly than disappeared. Reappeared after five minutes. Knows a bit about astronomy. |
| 26/09/2009 – 8.50pm | Ditton | Three bright orange/red lights, followed by another three. |
| 03/06/2006 – 5.05pm | Maidstone | A large, round, white object, with smaller, round white objects randomly scattered surrounding it. The objects started to fade. |
| 31/12/2006 – 8.55pm | Maidstone | UFO, lights – so many different ones. |
| 09/03/1998 – 7.45pm | Maidstone | Red and white, round flashing lights. Two and sometimes three of them. Moving around. |
| 14/02/1997 – 3.10pm | Maidstone | Two, small, triangular shaped objects. Black in colour. The objects were heading North and then disappeared into cloud. |
| 05/05/1997 – 9.40am | Maidstone | One round shaped object. Green in colour and was very bright. It was very fast. |
| 20/09/1997 – 11.05pm | Maidstone | One object, 20 times the size of a jumbo jet. It was bird shaped, and very bright orange in colour. It was moving in a straight line, banking from left to right. |
Sevenoaks
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 23/02/2009 – 7.17pm | New Ash Green | A ball of light in the clouds, moving slowly and falling apart. Had other white lights coming off it. Made no sound. |
| 12/06/2009 – 11.10pm | Shoreham | Initially two UFOs increasing to six. Bright orange. Last four were bigger and brighter than the first two. |
| 24/01/1997 – 8.07pm | Longfield | Three very bright objects, pulsating – white, green and yellow. They sometimes moved into a triangular formation. |
Sittingbourne and Sheerness
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 25/01/2009 – 11.25pm | Sittingbourne | A strange ball of bright orange light. Light faded out. |
| 28/05/2000 – 9am | Sittingbourne | One to three lights. They were moving West. Fast and erratic. |
| 22/11/2005 – no time reported | Sheerness | A ‘V’ shape of dim lights, that went into a straight line and then back into a V again. |
Thanet
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 20/08/2009 – 11.45am | Cliftonville | Three orange orbs and two red orbs. |
| 13/10/2009 – 10am | Birchington | Bright lights moving closer. |
| 15/09/2007 – 8.47pm | Stone Bay/ Broadstairs | An unusual sighting of six orange/red, glowing lights, flying in a linear formation. Were flying at normal helicopter height/speed, but were silent. |
| Sighting reported on 22/10/2007 but no firm date or time was given. | Ramsgate Harbour | Two UFOs were seen flying across the sky. |
| Sighting reported on 22/10/2007 but no firm date or time was given. | Ramsgate | Two UFOs were seen in the sky. |
| 16/02/2006 – 9.25pm | Pegwell Bay | A UFO, Shooting Star or something was seen, couldn’t really make out what it was! Was bright blue/white in colour. |
| 17/06/2006 – 9.45pm | Broadstairs | Five orange balls of light, going over one at a time, at about 10-15 minute intervals. |
| 07/09/2001 – 7.45pm | Broadstairs | Red ball of fire. It was low on the horizon and was moving to the East. |
| 27/09/2000 – 9.10pm | Ramsgate | Revolving lights on the right hand side of the road, then the left hand side. Looked like a tornado spinning. |
| 16/10/2000 – 7.20pm | Ramsgate | Two quite big objects – one triangular and one round. The triangle had blue, red and white colours on it. Circle – white, red and orange. |
| 14/08/1997 – 10pm | Newington | One object, as large as a B747. It was triangular/V-shaped. Was orange in colour. Brightness was brighter than aircraft navigation lights. |
| 14/08/1997 – 10pm | Ramsgate | A black, triangle shaped object, with three orange lights. It was the size of a jumbo jet. The object moved as fast as a jet aircraft. |
Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells
| Date/Time | Place | Report |
| 05/06/2008 – 12.55am | Tonbridge | An object was flying around in circles at aeroplane level and sounded like an industrial train. There was a strange flashing on the object. |
| 24/08/2009 – 12am | Tunbridge Wells | Bright orange lights, lasted for two minutes, went out, than four more. Could have been a meteorological balloon. A very bright light. |
| 11/08/1997 – 10pm | Pembury | A luminous, triangular shaped object that was hovering in the sky. There were four other luminous objects flying near it. The first object then disappeared. |
| 12/08/1997 – no time recorded | Tunbridge Wells | An object, much bigger than a star. Looked like a large apple. It exploded and sparkled like a firework and then fizzled out. |
| 11/11/2009 – 8.45pm | Edenbridge | Very bright yellow in the centre surrounded by orange outer edge, a fat boomerang on its side with a fire glow inside. Totally silent and 30-40 ft across. |
No specific area reported
| Date/Time | Report |
| 05/09/2009 – 9.40pm | Semi-circle of light, golden orange, moved off towards the east. No noise heard. |
| 11/09/2009 – 11.30am | White fixed wing object. Flying over a field. It was squared off with something behind it – no cockpit- silent not a glider. |
| 03/10/2009 – no time reported | Little moon thing. |
| 28/06/2008 – no time reported | A UFO. |
| 27/05/2005 – 3.15pm | Was a small white object, that was moving parallel with an airliner. |
| 04/07/2001 – 7am | One object. Had a bright light too. Was moving from West to East. |
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