A story about an apparent UFO sighting in the 1940s right here in Shepparton has made waves across the globe and sparked the interest of an extraterrestrial researcher.

In last Monday’s News, retired Shepparton policeman Neil John McIntyre spoke of seeing a UFO hover just metres away from him in his youth.

A French UFO researcher published a translated version of the story on his website, and on Facebook the story was shared by a number of UFO groups.

One researcher who took a great interest in the story was former Shepparton man Shane Ryan, who spent years trying to find out more about the famed Westall incident, when a group of teachers and students claimed to have seen a UFO in a Melbourne suburb in 1966.

‘‘What blew me away is that this happened in my home town,’’ Mr Ryan said.

‘‘It felt close to home. I knew the location of that pool hall (where the incident took place).’’

Mr Ryan’s interest in UFOs began when he was on the lookout for a subject to write a book about and he came across the Westall incident.

He spent months speaking to witnesses and documenting their stories.

Now he wants to speak to Neil to make sure his story is shared.

‘‘If it was a genuine UFO I have no idea, but either way something unusual happened,’’ he said.