Cause of 'Stranger Things' pink lights over Yorkshire town revealed

A strange, pink glow illuminating the skies over East Yorkshire has led people to believe they had seen the Northern Lights.

Some even thought the mystery hue was the hallmark of extra terrestrials.

But the earthly reality is a little less exciting... unless you're an avid gardener, that is.

Bursting the bubble, Nick Denham, managing director of the business behind the glow, explained: "It's LED lights used for growing plants."

Mr Denham's company is the UK's biggest plant propagator, turning seeds into young plants which are then shipped off to growers, before eventually supplying the nation's supermarkets .

The Plant Raisers firm, which employs up to 100 people, has been at its Howden premises, off the M62, for years.

So why are people only seeing the pink lights now?

Mr Denham said: "Because of the energy crisis we had to invest heavily in LED lights. But it means the light is pink and not white that people saw before."

Lighting was needed to "manipulate day-length" in order for the firm to maximise plant growth, he explained.

Ruby Hilson, an amateur astronomer who lives nearby, described the first time she saw the illumination.

She said: "I was like, whoa what on earth is that?"

"There was this massive pink light. It looked like a disc," she said.

"My brain initially went to 'it's a UFO'. But it wasn't moving.

"It obviously wasn't a UFO."

Ms Hilson said she did not think the lights coming from greenhouses were adding to light pollution.

According to her, regular street lights caused more interference when using her telescope from a residential area.

The lights were visible a few weeks per year, said Ms Hilson, adding they caused her "amusement not anger".

Those who want to believe may point out that the pink illuminations are visible on some nights and not on others.

Bringing us back to earth with a bump, Mr Denham said a curtain was drawn over the glasshouses when the temperature hits a certain point.

"If the outside temperature is above 12C (54F), there's a discussion about whether the curtain is on or not," he said.

As well as more than halving his firm's energy bill, Mr Denham said the pink lights produced "far better" plants.

"It's been a really good move for us," he said. "Last September we were facing an increase of over £1m in our electric bill. We wouldn't have been in business.

"We would've been finished."

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