Mystery after UFO sighting

9:50am Tuesday 12th September 2006

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IN A scene reminiscent of the X Files, a couple have been left scratching their heads after a UFO sighting in their garden.

Helen Hanreck, 49, was looking for her cats in the garden when she noticed a bright light in the sky.

Miss Hanreck, of Longwalk, Istead Rise, claims she saw more than six red lights moving silently across the night sky.

She claims the lights were moving slowly in an inverted V shape with a long tail.

The insurance manager called to her partner, Nick Claydon, to have a look at the spectacle on September 8 at 9.45pm.

Miss Hanreck says she hoped he would give her a rational explanation to the unexplained lights.

She said: "I thought it was flying too close to other aircraft and I did think It's a terrorist attack heading for London'.

"But then I realised it was going the other way and heading south east. I called to Nick as I thought he would know what the lights were as he has a pilot's licence.

"But when he came into the garden we were both lost for words. We watched the lights for 10 to 15 minutes and it was like watching Chinese lanterns being dragged silently through the sky."

She added: "I am not a believer in spaceships and aliens but I called the police to report it.

"They told me a taxi driver had already phoned in about it, so I was relieved it was not just us."

Mr Claydon, who also saw the UFOs, insists he and his partner are not "nutters".

The 49-year-old said: "We are not flying saucer nutters. We are just normal people, although we did go to Roswell in America to see where a spaceship was supposed to crash.

"I have always wanted to see something like this as other people go on about it.

"When we saw it I raced for my camera but I had it on the wrong setting so nothing came out."

Miss Hanreck says there may be a perfectly logical explanation although she can't think of one.

She added: "I would be interested to hear whether anyone else saw anything.

"We are so mystified by the whole thing. It's definitely a story we will be able to tell at dinner parties."

North Kent police say they had one report of someone seeing flashing lights at 10.01pm on September 8.

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