Unexplained reports of a strange 200-foot object hovering in the skies around Wakefield emerged this week when secret government files were released.

Mystery still surrounds sightings of a huge cylinder-shaped craft which stunned eyewitnesses at Emley Moor in the early hours of November 2, 1986.

Police officers based at Holmfirth received reports of two bright lights in the sky above Emley TV mast at around 4am, according to the Ministry of Defence documents unveiled this month.

Officers arrived on the scene at around 4.20am and watched the UFO, which was around 1,200 feet above the mast and had bright white lights at either end, for several minutes.

A statement from an unnamed officer said: "On first seeing the object it was totally static in the sky, not moving in any direction, but appeared to be hovering."

Another said: "It did not move in any direction though it appeared to wobble and distort."

It is thought nine people saw the UFO, which appeared to be changing colour from red to green before it flew off in an easterly direction.

Officers reported the sighting to the Civil Aviation Authority, which could offer no explanation. It was confirmed it was not a commercial or private aircraft.

The documents, made available by the National Archives, can be viewed here

They contain UFO-related reports from the years 1986 until 1992.

For more on UFOs in Wakefield, click here