SPHERES of light travelling across the sky and glowing formations are just two of the reports made to police by witnesses of the unexplained.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Northern Echo to Durham and Northumbria Police forces revealed that over the past four years dozens of ‘UFO’ sightings have been reported.

In November 2017, there was a report of a flying object projecting a green light.

The 'UFO' was spotted over Peterlee by a member of the public who was walking to his car on Manor Way.

A call of concern was also made to police in September 2016.

A caller claimed to have seen four 'UFOs' in the sky above Sacriston.

They were described as white discs which were shooting off in different directions.

See table of UFO reports in region:

The Northern Echo:

Although Durham Police recorded dozens of sightings they said many of the reports involved individuals with mental health issues and are therefore not indicative of extra-terrestrial sightings.

Elsewhere in the North-East, Northumbria police officers recorded nearly 200 calls about 'UFO' sightings.

In an FOI response to The Northern Echo, the force said that shortly before 10pm on December 19, 2016, they received a report of a 'UFO' sighting over Gateshead.

It was reported that in October that year the caller had witnessed a sphere of light travelling across the sky.

Officers followed up with the caller before closing the incident.

Also that year, the force was called to a similar report, a spokesperson said shortly before 10pm on September 12, 2016, they received a call about suspicious activity in the sky over Fenham.

It was reported that an unusual formation of lights were moving across the sky.

Officers followed up with the caller before closing the incident.

177 incidents were recorded by Northumbria Police and of those there were two that claimed sightings of UFOs.

Those that were not included in the results were due to recorded mental health issues, or they were not sightings.

Following the reports in Durham, police said discovered the report in Peterlee was actually a drone with orange and green lights on it.

Officers found the drone pilot in a nearby car park.

A spokesperson for the force also said that the 'UFOs' in Sacriston were reflections from a light show elsewhere in the county.