A mysterious alien abduction in Farnham has highlighted the area's long-running fascination with visitors from outer space.

As reported by the Herald, a bright green alien figure was taken from outside Bourne Mill Antiques on Guildford Road, sparking a social media appeal and a hunt for the missing extraterrestrial before the wayward visitor finally phoned home and was returned.

Around the globe, interest in UFOs has surged in recent years following the release of military footage showing unexplained aerial phenomena in the United States.

Yet long before this, residents across the Herald and Post area were reporting their own close encounters of the curious kind.

For decades, people across West Surrey and East Hampshire have reported strange sights in the sky.

In fact, in 2013 Surrey was named a UFO hotspot after figures revealed that mysterious objects had been reported hovering over the county more than 50 times during the previous 11 years.

The Ministry of Defence's UFO files also revealed a number of reports from Surrey. During 2007 alone, four sightings were logged from different parts of the county, adding to a long list of unexplained encounters recorded over the years.

UFO databases contain reports from Farnham, Guildford, Woking and beyond, describing glowing lights, silent triangular craft, cigar-shaped objects and fast-moving shapes that appeared to defy explanation.

While many sightings are eventually explained as aircraft, satellites, weather conditions or astronomical objects, not all witnesses are convinced. Reports continue to be submitted every year, reflecting an enduring fascination with the possibility that we are not alone.

Whether they are misidentified aircraft, natural phenomena or something more extraordinary, tales of strange visitors continue to capture imaginations and keep eyes fixed firmly on the skies.

And if the recent Bourne Mill alien saga proved anything, it is that little green men still have the power to beam themselves into our lives.