IT may not be light years but people travelled from across the UK to hear a former policeman reveal his close encounter with a UFO.

Alan Godfrey, 67, is considered to be one of Britain’s most famous witnesses and has appeared in several TV documentaries, books, national newspapers and UFO conferences.

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He has not spoken publicly for 15 years about his encounter on November 28, 1980, but was persuaded to give a free talk by the Mayor of Todmorden, Coun Michael Gill, for his chosen charities.

And the event, held at Todmorden Hippodrome Theatre on Saturday, was a sell-out raising more than £2,500, which will be shared between Independent Living Todmorden and the theatre to safeguard its future.

PC Alan Godfrey was on patrol looking for a herd of missing cows in Todmorden when his encounter took place. He said he was driving his police car along Burnley Road when a silent rotating ‘diamond shaped’ object, about 20ft high and 14ft wide, hovered in the middle of the road.

He tried to call for help but his radios wouldn’t work. He drew a sketch of the UFO on his notepad. Suddenly, the object vanished and he was 30 yards further down the road. He returned to the scene and the road was dry, despite it having rained. A bus driver also claims to have witnessed the aftermath of the UFO landing.

It later emerged that three police officers out searching for stolen motorbikes on the moors above Halifax observed a ‘steel blue’ light and officers in Littleborough and a witness in Cliviger also saw the same strange orb.

Alan said: “This was a nuts and bolts craft, not a trick of the mind. I have never seen anything like it. I would swear on the Bible it was from somewhere else. These things have been seen so many times above Todmorden, they call the area UFO alley.”

Alan could not account for around 30 minutes of missing time and oddly, one of his boots was split and he had a burn mark on his foot. After undergoing hypnotic regression, he recounted how a beam of light blinded him and he blacked out. He woke up inside a room where he was medically examined by a humanoid and eight small creatures.

He told the audience he believes he was forced to retire early from the police. His superiors transferred him to Wakefield and attempts were made to have him sectioned in a mental health hospital and ban him from Todmorden Police Station.

Coun Michael Gill, said: “We started out with just 60 people booked for the talk, but to almost fill the theatre is amazing. We are extremely grateful to Alan, he's a sucker for charity.”