Summer 2007 – Skelmanthorpe – White Orb Sighting
- Chairman Dave
- 12 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Birmingham UFO Group Case Report
Author: Dave Hodrien
Release Year: 2020
Last Updated: 02/02/2026
Note: For reasons of anonymity pseudonyms have been used
In early July 2020 while browsing a UFO-themed channel I came across a message on Facebook from a lady who I shall name “Kelly”. She mentioned a sighting she had back in 2007 over Huddersfield. I reached out to her via Facebook Messenger to learn about what took place in more depth.
Sighting Details
In the summer of 2007 Kelly was staying over at her mother’s house on Manor Rise, Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire for a few days.
The front of the house faces North North West in the direction of Emley Moor. In the distance the Emley Moor Transmitting Station communication mast is clearly visible from the front room window of the property. Kelly’s mother “Dorothy” suffers from Neuralgia and so used to sleep in the front room. She would often wake up during the night in pain.
On this particular night Kelly was sleeping upstairs. Dorothy woke her up at around 2am saying that there was a strange ball moving around in the sky and she had come and see it. Kelly got out of bed and went downstairs with her. Dorothy pointed out of the patio doors in the direction of the communication mast.
Looking through the glass she immediately saw what her mother was referring to. In the distance around the area of the mast she could see a fast moving orb of light. It was white with a hint of blue around the edges. It was hard to judge how large it was.
The orb was initially moving back and forth across the sky on a level flight path. It was a dry, still and mostly clear night. There was some light cloud, but even when the object moved behind this the white glow from it was still visible. Kelly says that they had to turn their heads left and right to keep of it “like people watching a game of tennis.”
After a couple of minutes it seemed to move a little closer and started moving in a triangular shape at a very fast speed, making instantaneous changes in direction.
Kelly and Dorothy both stood there in amazement discussing what it could be. They knew it was moving far too rapidly to be a plane or helicopter. Due to how rural the location is they felt that it was extremely unlikely to be a laser light, and it was visible in clear patches of sky where there was seemingly no cloud for it to bounce off.
Several minutes later Dorothy suggested they should go and grab a torch, then go outside and try to signal to it. However, Kelly was concerned due to not knowing what it was, so asked her mother not to proceed.
They continued to watch the orb dart across the sky for a further 15-20 minutes. Sadly, neither of them had a camera with film in it, and Kelly says that her mobile phone was only a basic model with no camera. After this time, they then noticed an aeroplane in the distance. The plane started moving in the direction of the object. It then seemed to start to descend in the sky until it was flying much lower than planes would usually be seen at.
Dorothy said “Planes never go that low.” Kelly pointed out that if they could see it then the pilots of the plane must surely be able to also see it.
A moment later the orb suddenly shot towards their location an incredible speed. Over the neighbouring houses it performed another instantaneous turn and shot away to the North East in the direction of Wakefield. It was gone in a brief moment, leaving them bewildered at what they had just witnessed.
The plane continued on the same course it had been travelling on, passing through the area of sky where the orb had previously been. As it got closer they could hear the familiar sound of its engines.
Due to the fascinating aspects of the sighting neither of them could go back to sleep and they stayed up for the remainder of the night. Kelly recalls seeing the sunrise at around 5am.
Later in the day Dorothy told her husband “Michael” about it, but Kelly feels that he did not believe them. They listened on the radio, and bought the local newspaper but there were no other reports of the object, possibly due to the time of night that the incident occurred at.
Thinking back to what happened Kelly has often wondered whether the object knew that the plane was approaching it and that’s why it suddenly moved away. She also wonders if the pilots had seen the orb or even reported it.
Sighting Analysis
Due to the manoeuvres the object performed this is a very impressive sighting. It was clearly performing controlled movements so a lit inflatable like a white LED balloon can immediately be discounted. The instant turns put an aeroplane out of the picture. As the witnesses themselves observed, the object was moving far too rapidly to have been a distant helicopter.
As they also stated, a laser light or narrow search light coming up from the ground is very unlikely. There was no visible beam of any kind, and if it was a laser it would have needed to reflect off the base of the cloud layer, yet there were clear patches of sky where it could still be seen. There are establishments up on Emsley Moor which would have such a light.
Drones are capable of performing fast and sudden changes in direction. However, the incident occurred in 2007, a number of years before they were commercially available. Also the speed at which the object finally left the vicinity was much too fast for a drone or other remote controlled model.
Despite the appearance of the object not giving us any clue to its actual structure, I feel there is definitely the possibility that this was an advanced craft of some kind, possibly of non-human origin.
Unfortunately due to her ill health I am unable to speak with Dorothy about this incident, however I would like to thank Kelly for allowing me to publish the details of what happened, and have no reason to doubt her story.
Copyright Dave Hodrien 2026
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