UFO sightings over Britain more than triple this year

Beware the little green men – the number of unidentified flying object (UFO) sightings has more than tripled this year, Ministry of Defence documents reveal.

The so-called "X Files" show that there have been 394 claims reported to the MoD's UFO desk from January until the end of last month, making it by far the "busiest" year on record.

Last year, there were only 118 sightings over the same period. The previous highest number was in 1997 – the first for which figures are available – when there were 331 reports over the same period.

Experts say Britain is experiencing a "flap" – the term Ufologists use to describe a concentrated period of sightings.

Many of the reports are of UFOs spotted at night time and describe seeing strange lights in the sky. However, some are seen in daylight.

One report was from a pilot in an aircraft flying at about 4,500ft over Otmoor, in Oxfordshire, who saw a shiny, black, flying cylinder, 20-30ft long, flying about 200ft higher. According to the documents, the report was forwarded on to the UFO Desk by air traffic controllers.

Officials at the two main civilian airports in the area – Oxford and Cranfield – said the report had not come from them, raising the possibility it came from the nearby RAF base at Brize Norton.

A spokesman for the MoD was unable to confirm this, but added: "These types of report do tend to come in via Brize."

Air traffic controllers at Jersey airport also submitted a reported sighting to the UFO Desk. Paul Holley, from the airport, said they were notified of the sighting by a member of the public who had seen a bright orange object hovering over Gorey Castle, on the east of the island.

"This was reviewed against our radar recordings and there was nothing that we could attribute it to, so it technically became an unidentified flying object, which we reported," he said. "Our weather reports showed it was quite a clear night."

[Read More at Telegraph.co.uk via Paranormal Daily News]