It appears out of nowhere, sometimes in a mist, flying low to the ground - but never making a sound.

The ghostly Second World War bomber is said to fly the skies over Skipton, Keighley and Bradford. Those who've seen it say it is painted in distinctive camouflage colours and has only one wing.

The phantom aircraft is thought to be the apparition of a Wellington Bomber which lost a wing en route from Cumbria and crashed into the canal near Skipton during the Second World War. It was carrying Polish airmen being trained by the RAF who were all killed.

The local ghost story has inspired a new play, Phantom of the Skies, by the Skipton-based Sheep Town Theatre Company. The drama is based on stories told by people claiming to have seen the ghostly aircraft.

It runs this week, coinciding with the unveiling of a memorial to the men killed in the Wellington Bomber. A Lancaster bomber will fly up the valley to mark the loss of the plane. The cast recently visited the memorial, near Bradley.

"It reminded us that real people died, it was very moving," says Thomas Aldersley, who co-founded the theatre company which produces plays based on local themes, issues and historical stories. "The phantom aircraft story is fascinating, we appealed for people to tell us about their experiences of it and got an amazing response."

The play is about two police officers who see the plane. When they tell others they're ridiculed by a small community that refuses to take them seriously.

"It's a dark comedy looking at the consequences of the sighting," says Thomas. "The police officers want to report it but one of them is discouraged by his wife, who thinks he's crazy. The other officer, a woman, has a more supportive partner but finds that when it comes to reporting it, she's on her own. The officers' friendship becomes strained.

"It's about having the courage to be different in a small town where everyone thinks the same. The ghostly aircraft is the catalyst to explore this. You wouldn't believe the amount of people who told us: I've seen it but I didn't have the courage to say anything'."

The Wellington Bomber ended up in a canal after failing to crash-land on a nearby hill. Members of the Polish airmen's families will be at a ceremony unveiling the memorial this weekend.

"An American film crew came over to film a documentary about the crash," says Thomas. "What's fascinating is that sightings of the plane - believed to be an apparition of the bomber - have only been reported over the last five or six years. It's said to appear in a cloud, it's been sighted recently over Haworth Moor.

"The play asks why there have only been recent sightings of it. Is it an omen?"

So how do you create a ghost plane on stage? "Technical wizardry," smiles Thomas. "You'll have to come and see for yourself."

Phantom of the Skies follows Sheep Town's tradition of staging plays with local significance. The theatre company, which has residency at The Mart, Skipton's cattle market-turned-theatre, launched a five-play programme earlier this year with black comedy The Diversification of Veg Boy, about foot-and-mouth disease. A sequel, The Globalisation of Veg Boy, runs later this year.

"There are enough theatre companies out there doing Shakespeare and Arthur Miller, we put on new plays that speak to communities," says Thomas. "A lot of local stories go unreported. We're starting to lose a generation who were around during the war. There's a lot of hidden history out there, we want to preserve it by turning it into drama."

The cast will perform the play at Aire-ville School, Skipton - where Thomas was a pupil - tomorrow after holding a workshop exploring issues raised in the drama. "One of the police officers in the play is bullied at work so we'll look at bullying," says Thomas. "We're keen for families to see our plays so with every adult ticket two children go free. It can be expensive for a family to go to the theatre but we're a not-for-profit company and aim to make theatre accessible."

The company, named after Skipton's original 7th century name, Sceptone, meaning Sheeptown, takes productions to pubs, community centres and church halls and holds workshops. Phantom of the Skies will tour Craven villages later this year.

Thomas, an actor, writer and comic, who has appeared in TV dramas such as Coronation Street and The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, will soon leave his beloved Dales to do a stand-up tour in Nevada.

"I'm performing in small towns then on to bigger venues in San Francisco. I've no idea what to expect, it'll be interesting to see what they make of British humour in small-town America," he says.

Phantom of the Skies runs at The Mart Theatre, Skipton, tomorrow and Saturday. For tickets ring (01756) 791411.