Police called about zombies, werewolves and witches in Nottingham

-The Telegraph---

Police received nearly 100 reports of sightings of magical and supernatural creatures in Nottinghamshire, according to a Freedom of Information request.

The police responded to 13 of the 49 incidents called in last year, which was a rise of the 31 calls made in 2011 and 17 calls in 2010 

Nottinghamshire police received 97 calls about aliens, monsters, werewolves, zombies and witches over the last three years.

None of the sightings were confirmed, but the Freedom of Information request showed that no one was charged with wasting police time in relation to any of the calls.

The police responded to 13 of the 49 incidents called in last year, which was a rise of the 31 calls made in 2011 and 17 calls in 2010.

Inspector Andy Hyslop of Nottinghamshire Police said: "Some of the figures could be misleading as they are without context. For example, there have been occasions where reports including the word 'witchcraft' have been made by a persistent caller who was suffering with mental health issues.

"Another caller who made two calls relating to the term UFO had alcohol and mental health issues.

"In another example, we had records of the word ghost being used but some of those were reporting burglaries in which the word related to a brand of perfume or bicycle which was taken."

Inspector Hyslop added that the police made sure they were responding appropriately and said: "It would not be safe to have a non-attendance policy for these types of incidents as some may be mental health related or genuine concerns from potentially vulnerable persons.”

Jessica Gladwin, owner of Nottingham-based Dusk Till Dawn ghost-hunting company, said she thinks that people are becoming more and more open-minded about other-worldly beings.

Mrs Gladwin, whose company organises tours of haunted venues throughout the UK, said: “I have seen an increase in the number of people susceptible to seeing spirits because people seem to be coming more and more open minded. I'm not surprised that the police have seen an increase in reports.

“I personally saw a ghost in 2010 on one of our tours at the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham.

"It was a man, with a horrible grimace on his face, just staring at me. Usually for a spirit there can be a horrible smell, like sewers, and that happened before he appeared.”

-The Telegraph