BRITAIN'S first alien abduction happened in Runcorn.

This startling revelation was made following an intriguing sighting published recently in the World of three UFOs over the Runcorn bridge.

Top researchers believe that Halton is the country's main "window area" for all manner of paranormal activitity.

This week - in an exclusive report - MARA, the Mersey Anomalies Research Association has compiled a summary from the archives of the extraordinary events which have been reported over the years.

"Up until 1996, Halton had a very high ratio of UFO reports," said the organisation's Mark Rosney of MARA. "This appeared to be beyond the norm for the rest of the country at that time.

"Top researchers think that the Halton, Frodsham and Daresbury districts are a 'window area' for all manner of paranormal activity. A 'window area' is a place where there is an unusually high concentration of unusual phenomena."

Not all the sightings are from another planet.

"I would like to stress that UFO does not necessarily mean a spaceship from another world," explained Mark.

"There is not one shred of tangible evidence to support the theory that we are being visited by beings from other worlds.

"Nobody really knows what is being seen over Halton. However, there is a real phenomena out there which is worthy of further investigation."

Other contenders are earthlings, ball lightning and other plasma effects to name but a few."

IN 1957, James Cooke claimed he was hijacked by aliens in a flying saucer from Runcorn Hill - 40 years ago.

He says he was taken to their homeworld, Zomdic, a planet orbiting a star light years away from our own solar system.

There he claimed to meet with the wise elders of the planet who instructed him to spread the word of "universal peace and harmony" to the rest of humanity. He was returned home 45 hours later.

After a later contact, this time on Frodsham Hill, James set up the Church of Aquarius in the town. It became so popular that a second "church" was opened.

Here, James "channeled" information from the elders of Zomdic. The church ran for 10 years before James disappeared from public view in 1969.

In 1963, RAF veteran Dick Newby saw a "huge blue star-like object" hurtle through the sky, just above the rooftops over Boston Avenue, Runcorn. He then watched as it burned a path over Halton Castle.

He said:"I served for seven years in the RAF and I have heard pilots speak about these flying saucers after returning from operations.

"I was very alarmed. I've seen plenty of shooting stars and airliners but this was neither. It looked nothing like a shooting star and was dead silent."

In 1966, John Middleham of Runcorn saw a flying disc over Halton.

From then on, armed with a cine camera, he constantly scanned the skies trying to capture UFOs on film. Three years later, he spotted a huge cigar shaped object with two smaller discs underneath the skies of Runcorn.

In 1968, Widnes and Liverpool police took chase in squad cars after a huge brightly lit flying cross was seen flying over Fiddlers Ferry power station. No explanation was given for the object which left the cars standing as it hurtled off at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour.

In 1969, Runcorn police received a report of a UFO landing on a playing field behind Pine Road, Runcorn.

In 1972, Julie Robson, Joyce Baxter and son Paul saw an unusual flying object over Halton Brow during daylight. They described it as "resembling a flying teapot without a lid."

In 1978, a group of teenagers came across a large dome-shaped object sitting in a field near the Devil's Garden in Frodsham.

They saw "alien figures" examining cows in a field, using a "strange frame like apparatus". The cows were completely motionless and silent, as though they had been immobilised. After a few moments, the teenagers panicked and ran away.

In 1979, workers at the Employment Department building near Runcorn Shopping City saw a huge orange sphere move slowly across the sky over Palacefields.

In 1988, a woman on the A56 slip road near Preston Brook saw a bright white light and experienced "missing time".

In 1992, Graham Clamp saw a strange "pink ball of light" over the Mersey from Cottons Bridge, Frodsham. The ball slowly zig zagged across the sky and then shot off at great speed over Frodsham Hill.

In 1994, a major UFO wave was reported over Frodsham Hill during four evenings. More than 30 witnesses saw a huge "cigar shaped object" with shimmering coloured bands running down its side. The object returned later in the year and was seen by at least 70 people both here and over Chester and North Wales. Investigators could find no satisfactory explanation.

In 1995, a woman saw a "bell shaped object" hover over the Mersey near Fiddlers Ferry power station. It appeared to be "sucking up a column of water" from the river. Six other passers-by also witnessed the event. This was the start of a two-month spate of sightings over Halton. Many witnesses saw all manner of unusual objects and lights, ranging from bright star like objects, flying discs and black triangles to huge wedge shaped objects which were described as being larger than two football pitches.

In 1996, a Widnes man claimed to have seen a UFO over Widnes railway station.

He reported that the bright spherical object made a sound like "a thousand wailing cats" and then fired bursts of flame at the ground which apparently burnt holes in some railway sleepers.

In 1997, there were numerous sightings of huge black triangular objects on a large section of the North West shoreline. In Halton, one witness was pursued by a dark triangular object as she drove over the Runcorn-Widnes bridge.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.