Residents phoned 999 dozens of times over ‘ghost and UFO worries’

“Worried residents phoned 999 to report sightings of ghosts and UFOs, including a man who claimed to have seen the spirit of actor Paul Newman, a force has disclosed. Officers say one emergency call came from a man who rang police claiming to have seen the ghosts of ”two old ladies in a white Fiesta” on a dual carriageway. Other worried calls came from people who spotted ghosts or poltergeists on CCTV cameras and another who said he’d seen a ghost which could ”make me a million quid”. Dozens more calls were also made claiming to have seen aliens including one man reporting that his wife and dog were being abducted by Martians.

More than 150 calls, details of which were released under the Freedom of Information Act, claimed to have seen spooks or UFOs were made to Devon and Cornwall Police over the past 15 years. One caller claimed a spectre gave him a ”horrible hairstyle and some dodgy photos. Ghost is Paul Newman.” In one case in October 2003, the force recorded: ”Caller states he has got a ghost on CCTV. Caller wanted advice on who he could contact as the footage was going to make him a million. Advised to go to the press.” In July 2004 someone from Newton Abbot in Devon reported seeing a ”ghost driver” on the A38. The police log recorded: ”Two old ladies in white Fiesta – come onto the A38B carriageway on the off slip facing the wrong way. Stopped on the hard shoulder, trying to reverse back up the off slip.” A man in Callington, Cornwall, reported his wife and dog being abducted by aliens, while another said he’d seen UFO over a pie factory in Okehampton, Devon.

Other 999 calls were made to report ”a long, white cylinder thing like a train in the sky” and ”orange balls moving slowly upwards and in all different directions”. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said most of the incidents were logged as ”non attendance” or ”routine” although in some cases officers were forced to respond. ”Our call centre operators take many types of calls and the vast majority are for emergencies or relate to non urgent inquiries of one type or another,” he said. ”There are occasions though when a more unusual call is received. “These are all dealt with professionally by our highly trained staff who access and process them in an appropriate way.” ”

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