Bolton man seeks answers after Winter Hill 'UFO sighting' Grace Williams Mon 10 November 2025 at 5:00 am UTC 3 min read "It was really close, so in a panic, we just drove off" (Image: Keith Rylance) A Farnworth man is still searching for answers after witnessing strange lights over Winter Hill in 2019. It was a dark evening on October 2, 2019, when Joe Henderson, 29, and his two friends, Luke and James, went up Winter Hill in Bolton’s moorlands. Joe expected to see some breathtaking views of Bolton, but instead, he saw something he couldn’t explain. Joe said: “It was around 9pm, and when we got into the car to go home, I saw 10 evenly spaced lights going over the hill. Advertisement “They were really close, so in a panic, we just drove off. “I can’t explain what it could have been.” Following the eerie experience, Joe discovered he wasn't alone in what he had seen. Unusual sightings at Winter Hill appear to date back to the 1950s. One witness described a “dark, flat iron-shaped object hovering close to the ground.” According to the account, the witness claimed to have interacted with an “alien” before it “returned to the spacecraft and disappeared”. The event was never fully explained and remains one of the earliest recorded UFO sightings in the area. Fast forward to 1999, a local farmer known as Murphy alleged that he saw a UFO hovering above his cattle field. Advertisement Advertisement The object reportedly moved away silently at an unnatural speed. Murphy reported the sighting to the police and was shocked to see the same object again later that night, in the same spot. More residents came forward with similar accounts, which led to an investigation by the Manchester Aerial Phenomena Investigation Team (MAPIT). Despite the scrutiny, no concrete explanation was ever found. This famous sighting came to be known as The Murphy Incident. The most recent Bolton UFO sighting was by Stephen Maloney, 55, of Thornham Drive, around 9pm on Monday, October 6. The object, described by Mr Maloney as a silent, bright white light streaking across the sky, was spotted over the moors near Tottington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stephen Maloney has called for an investigation after capturing a strange, silent white light above the moors (Image: Stephen Maloney) Discussing his own experience, Joe said he first wondered if the lights he saw could have been a row of people walking. “The lights started going higher and higher as we went over the hill, so I don’t think that’s what it could have been,” he said. “But they were really close.” Read more: To explore the possibility that the lights may have belonged to ramblers, The Bolton News contacted the Bolton Walking and Outdoors Appreciation Society (BWOAS) , who often take trips up Winter Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BWOAS committee chairperson, Colin Liptrot from Westhoughton, said: “There are always lots of walkers, runners and cyclists with bright torches up on the moor. “At night, it’s very easy to lose depth and distance perception, so objects can appear like they are moving in very strange ways. “I’ve seen mountain bikers coming down a hill in the dark, and that looks as if the lights are in the sky because of the light conditions.” However, after checking his walking log, Colin confirmed that the group had been on a trip to Scotland on that day in 2019 and had walked up Kinlochleven. “It definitely wasn’t us,” said Colin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement “When I lead my Moors and Mountains guided walks over Winter Hill, we often stop to talk about the UFO sighting, as well as other paranormal and historic topics. “The latest craze is a big cat that’s apparently been spotted up there recently. “I have never seen anything, but there is evidence to suggest that there could be a breeding population of larger felines in the British countryside.” For now, Joe’s quest to find an explanation for what he saw in 2019 remains unanswered. If you think you might know what it was, get in touch with us at The Bolton News . Advertisement Source: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/bolton-man-seeks-answers-winter-050000377.html