A Combination of Encounters
Nestled in the Pennines along the West Yorkshire–Lancashire border lies the small valley town of Todmorden. In 1980, this quiet area earned a reputation as Britain’s capital of “UFO Activity” due to a series of baffling events surrounding local police officer PC Alan Godfrey. The Todmorden UFO Incident remains one of the most famous and heavily investigated close encounter cases in British history. What makes this story so legendary isn’t just the sighting itself, but the tragic, unexplained mystery that preceded it.
The Twisted Precursor: Zigmund Adamski
Six months prior to his own encounter, in June 1980, PC Alan Godfrey was one of the investigating officers called to a coal yard at a Todmorden railway station. A 56-year-old Polish miner named Zigmund “Ziggy” Adamski had been found dead, resting atop a 10-foot-high pile of coal.
The forensic details surrounding Adamski’s body left investigators completely stumped. You can read further into the details of Zigmund Adamski on our post created for his case here: Zigmund Adamski.
The Incident: November 28, 1980
In the early morning hours of November 28, 1980, at approximately 5:00 AM, PC Alan Godfrey was driving his Ford Escort patrol car down Burnley Road on the outskirts of Todmorden while investigating reports of loose cattle.
As he rounded a bend, he spotted an object about 20 yards ahead hovering five feet off the ground. At first, he assumed it was a double-decker bus that had skidded sideways across the road. Upon closer inspection, he realized he was looking at something far more unusual:
Object Description: A massive diamond- or dome-shaped object measuring roughly 20 feet wide and 14 feet high. It featured a slowly rotating lower half and a bank of dark, window-like lights.
Equipment Failure: Godfrey attempted to call for backup, but both his patrol car’s VHF radio and his personal UHF radio unit went completely dead with static.
The Notebook Sketch: With communications down, Godfrey grabbed his notepad and sketched the physical object directly in his police notebook.
The Flash of Light: Suddenly, a brilliant, blinding flash of light enveloped the car.
Missing Time and Physical Evidence
Following the sudden flash of light, Godfrey experienced a lapse in memory and found himself driving his patrol car 30 yards further down the road, with the craft completely gone.
Missing Time: When he checked his watch, he realized that between 15 and 25 minutes were unaccounted for.
Physical Marks: His left police boot was split open, and he discovered an itchy red mark on his foot.
Dry Tarmac: Upon returning to the exact spot where the object had hovered, Godfrey noticed that while all surrounding roads were soaked from heavy rain, the patch of tarmac directly beneath the object was completely bone-dry.
Corroborating Reports: When Godfrey returned to the station, he learned that three other on-duty officers in nearby areas had also reported seeing a brilliant light moving toward Todmorden at that exact time.
Hypnotic Regression and Alien Claims
Facing intense psychological stress and ridicule from colleagues, Godfrey underwent regressive hypnosis months later under the supervision of a psychiatrist to recover his missing memories.
During these sessions, he recalled a much stranger sequence of events:
Engine Stoppage: The blinding beam of light had stopped his car engine and electronics.
Inside the Craft: He remembered being taken into a room that resembled a house or laboratory rather than a conventional spaceship.
The Entities: He reported being examined by a tall, bearded humanoid figure wearing Biblical-style robes who communicated telepathically and named himself “Yosef”. Surrounding Yosef were small, robot-like entities with lamp-shaped heads.
Important Context: Decades later, Alan Godfrey distanced himself from the abduction details retrieved under hypnosis. In 2018, he stated that the abduction portion was likely a vivid dream or a stress-induced hallucination. However, he has stubbornly maintained that the physical, diamond-shaped object blocking Burnley Road was 100% real.
The Aftermath: Career Fallout, “Men in Black,” and Britain’s Roswell
What followed the events of November 28, 1980, was a dramatic fallout that completely transformed Alan Godfrey’s life, turning a respected, pragmatic Yorkshire police officer into a central figure of international UFO folklore.
Media Storm and Institutional Pressure
When news broke that a serving police officer had drawn a craft in his official police notebook and reported missing time, the story went global. Reporters descended on Todmorden, transforming the quiet Pennine valley town into what journalists dubbed “Britain’s Roswell”.
However, within the West Yorkshire Police force, Godfrey’s account was met with deep skepticism and institutional hostility. Senior police hierarchy questioned his mental stability and fitness for duty. Godfrey alleged that he was subjected to unexpected medical checks and covert pressure aimed at discrediting him. During one surprise medical examination, a police surgeon reportedly warned Godfrey to “watch his back,” advising him that certain figures within the establishment were determined to force him out of the police force at any cost.
“Men in Black” and the Ministry of Defence
Godfrey maintained that official investigations into both his sighting and the death of Zigmund Adamski were actively hindered. He claimed he was visited by representatives from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and shadowy “men in black” figures who instructed him not to speak to the media or disclose further details about either incident. Furthermore, odd physical evidence—such as the missing official reports, original forensic samples from Adamski’s body, and local site details—seemed to vanish or encounter administrative roadblocks.
Leaving the Force and Writing His Story
The relentless strain, public scrutiny, and workplace hostility took a heavy physical and psychological toll on Godfrey. He was eventually medically retired from the police force.
In the years following his departure, Godfrey sought to reclaim his narrative. He authored a self-published memoir titled Who or What Were They?, detailing the events of that fateful night, the bizarre connection to Zigmund Adamski, and the intense cover-up efforts that disrupted his career.
Distancing from Abduction Memory vs. The Physical Sighting
As the decades passed, Godfrey maintained a grounded, pragmatic approach to his story. He openly expressed caution regarding the abduction details uncovered during hypnotic regression—acknowledging that the visions of “Yosef” and the alien figures may well have been vivid hallucinations or dream states triggered by severe trauma and stress.
However, Godfrey has never recanted his core testimony regarding the physical event on Burnley Road: “I know what I saw. It was a solid, physical, diamond-shaped object floating five feet off the ground… no amount of ridicule will ever change that.”
Enduring Cultural Legacy
Today, the Todmorden UFO incident remains one of the most compelling cold cases in British ufology. It has inspired books (such as Rik Moran’s Chance Encounters In The Valley Of Lights), investigative documentaries, and cold-case podcasts analyzing the unsolved mystery of Zigmund Adamski.
Decades later, as government bodies around the world begin taking Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) more seriously, PC Alan Godfrey’s experience stands out not as a wild tall tale, but as the brave account of a frontline officer who reported exactly what he saw—and paid a heavy personal price for it.