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Sunday, May 2, 1999 Published at 18:26 GMT


UK
Police Look to Identify Nuisance 999 Callers

Police forces nationwide have issued a joint statement reminding the public to only call 999 in serious emergencies, after a string of calls from people claiming to have seen UFOs.

The misuse of 999 and hoax calling are a criminal offence and are liable to a maximum penalty of £5000.

You can listen to two of the calls by playing the audio clips below.


The calls come on the 50th anniversary of the disappearance of Sheila Davis, who is widely believed to have been abducted by a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object).

Air Traffic Control teams have confirmed that no unexpected signals were picked up during the times the calls were made, and deny the likelihood of the calls being genuine.

Damian Howell, head of Air Traffic Control in Durham Tees Valley airport, close to where one of the calls came from, made a statement on Sunday morning: "We would like to assure people that nothing out of the ordinary has been picked up on our monitors. There is no reason at all to panic, and if aliens were to visit Durham, we would be the first to know and would certainly disclose this to the public."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defence have refused to comment, although they have said in the past that the possibility of extra-terrestrial life currently poses no threat to the safety of the nation.

Police forces are asking that those with information on the recent hoax calls to come forward at their local police station.






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