A Hope Mills man was recently on the Discovery Channel after claiming to see UFOs while fishing at the Cape Fear River.

Christopher Bledsoe Sr, former owner of Bledsoe Properties, was the centerpiece of a documentary-style show on the cable channel called, UFOs over Earth.

The show, which ran on Dec. 13, featured UFO investigator interviews with Bledsoe, who claimed he, his son and three friends saw three bright yellow circular objects hovering over a wooded area as they were fishing on the Cape Fear River in 2007.

Producers with the show flew from California in June and spent several days videotaping and doing interviews.

The experience moved the Fayetteville native from being a skeptic to now, devouring any bit of information about extraterrestrial life, he can, Bledsoe said Sunday.

"Imagine seeing something as big as a school bus hovering in the air," Bledsoe, 47, said Sunday. "It scared the bejesus out of me."

Several years ago, Bledsoe grappled numerous lawsuits and community scorn from scores of angry homeowners and suppliers who accused his company of unfinished repairs, unpaid for work. Eventually, Bledsoe quit the construction business and paid out thousands in liens and settlements.

Although he is unemployed, Bledsoe's reputation seems be on the upswing.

Since the broadcast, hundreds of messages of support and interest in his UFO claims have crowded his Google e-mail account from places as far as Canada, Poland and Sweden. A wave of attention has beset the Bledsoe household. Last month a specialist in hypnosis spent days talking with Bledsoe about a possible book, he said.

Bledsoe is also in demand as a speaker on UFO sightings.

"I've never believed in UFOs and I never thought of such stuff," Bledsoe said. "But now, this might become one of the biggest cases in the world."