THE mystery of a shiny object in the sky appears to have reached far and wide – and also caused some amusement.

After the Examiner revealed on Thursday that a Flockton couple saw a large orange light coming from nearby woods on Christmas Day, dozens of residents from as far away as Sowerby Bridge contacted us.

Many were as confused by similar sights above the town.

But others said they had released Chinese lanterns which may have caused the mystery.

Dalton mother Charlotte Bartley was celebrating her newborn’s first Christmas by releasing a lantern.

She said: “I never thought people would mistake it for a UFO until I saw it up in the air – I actually said that people would be looking out of their window asking what the heck it was.”

She, her parents and baby Louis, who is just nine weeks old, watched as her brother, Greg Sykes, released the lantern at about 6.45pm.

The Chinese lanterns work like hot air balloons and have a flying time of 20 minutes, burning up into the sky with an orange glow.

Flockton couple Paul and Sharon Elliff watched a mystery orange light fly across Emley just after 7pm on Christmas Day.

While Skelmanthorpe man Paul Beaumont and his family released one of the lanterns from their home that night and a woman from Sowerby Bridge also saw a similar sight at about 9pm on Christmas Day.

But three other residents were left confused by what they saw.

Golcar man Tony Fisher and his wife were on their way to Golcar Liberal Club when they saw two orange lights in the sky above them.

The Rev David Kent saw a floating object over the Hillside Crescent and Ing Lane playing fields heading from Newsome towards Almondbury.

He said: “I went to get my binoculars to take a better look and by the time I got back to the bedroom window it had gone without trace.

“At the speed it was travelling I should have had ample time to get my binoculars and get a good look at it, so where it went is a mystery.”

Other residents saw sights above Salendine Nook on New Year’s Day while Janet and Stephen Booth reported them as far away as Ossett.