UFO 'spotted near Parliament'

See again the UFO claimed to be spotted in Shrewsbury.

Darren Perks was testing his infra red recording equipment when he picked up these white objects moving across the night sky - invisible to the human eye.

The surge in UFO 'sightings' has been attributed to the popular trend of releasing Chinese lanterns at weddings.

There has been a marked increase in the amount of Chinese lanterns being released at weddings and public holidays.

One example included a sighting by a group of soldiers in Shropshire in 2008 who had seen floating lights in the sky. However this was later explained by a local hotel who were letting off Chinese lanterns at the time.

Dr David Clarke, author of The UFO Files, said: "Many of the sighting accounts - such as formations of orange lights moving slowly across the sky - describe the appearance of Chinese lanterns even though people did not recognise them at the time."

John Wickham of the British UFO Research Association, has told Daybreak that "there is no definitive proof that UFOs exist."

"However, in saying that it's not logical to think that out of the vastness of the planets throughout the universe that some planets do contain the elements of gasses on earth, so logically they can sustain some sort of life," he added.

A number of UFO sightings have been reported in the Midlands including one by soldiers in Shropshire in June 2008.

A memo on the incident at Tern Hill Barracks in Shropshire describes how a group of soldiers had seen lights in the sky and made a video of it.

In the Ministry of Defence file, an unnamed official described how it showed a number of lights in the sky but their change of colour and square appearance seemed to be due to the photographer zooming in.

The Ministry of Defence has now closed its UFO desk in 2009 because it served "no defence purpose"

Reported UFO sightings to the Ministry of Defence's UFO desk and hotline trebled in 2009, the year the department was closed.

Daybreak's Tiffany Royce reports:

The Ministry of Defence declined an offer of a weapon that could "shoot down UFOs", newly released files reveal.

One suggestion was sent to the MoD by a "UFO researcher" who wrote:

In a response, an MoD official politely declined the offer, writing:

The number of UFO sightings reported to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) trebled in the year its hotline was closed, newly released files show.

The MoD closed its desk in 2009, saying it served "no defence purpose" and was taking staff away from more valuable "defence-related" work.

Its decision came in a year when officials had received a surge in the number of reported sightings.

According to a briefing in the files, during the years 2000-07 the MoD received an average of 150 reports per year.

But by November 2009, it had already received 520 reports that year, as well as 97 freedom of information requests on UFOs.

Possible reasons for the increase included the craze for releasing Chinese lanterns at weddings and public holidays, appearing as floating lights in the sky.

One example included a sighting by soldiers in Shropshire which hit the headlines in June 2008.

The Ministry of Defence closed its UFO desk in 2009 because it served "no defence purpose", newly released files showed today.

The latest tranche of declassified MoD UFO files showed the decision was taken to close the desk and its UFO "hotline" in a year when sightings reported to the department had trebled.

The decision was taken to close the desk and bring to an end the "UFO hotline" by officials who deemed it had no "defence benefit".

They also said the resources that were being devoted to it were taking staff away from "more valuable defence-related activities".

UFOs were spotted near several major UK landmarks, including the Houses of Parliament, Stonehenge and Blackpool Pier, according to files released today.

The files, released by the National Archives, include sightings reported to the MoD's UFO Desk between 2007 and 2009, when it was closed.

The sightings, which saw a surge in 2009, came from across the British Isles, and even further afield, including the Canary Islands.

One person reported seeing a UFO over the Houses of Parliament in London, leaving a message on the UFO hotline's answerphone.

The report, from February 12, 2008, described "green, red and white lights", static in the sky and quite far in the distance, seen for about an hour and a half.

The report said the person "said there were many aircraft passing the UFO, but it stayed static in the air. He said that he had seen it on Sunday, February 10, 2008 too".

Another sighting described "discoid" shapes noticed in photographs of Stonehenge.