Northern Ireland's secret UFO files released

A secret 'X-files' style dossier of UFO sightings in Northern Ireland has been made public for the first time, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Details revealed under the Freedom of Information Act show that 11 sightings have been reported in the area in the past decade.

They range from bright lights to dome-shaped objects, according to the Ministry of Defence log books that list times, dates, places and descriptions.

Other reports include 18 lights moving across the sky and an object the size of a bowling ball with red lines on it that "moved fast, then vanished" .

Describing one incident, a witness told the MoD they saw "two egg shaped objects, with red, blue and green coloured lights", adding it was dome shaped at the top but was flat at the bottom.

The locations of some of the reported incidents

An MoD spokesman said: "The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

"If required, sighting reports are examined with the assistance of the department's air defence experts.

"Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported."

However, correspondence between the MoD and members of the public reveals that Whitehall officials remain "totally open- minded" about the existence of UFOs.

Giving details of the MoD's policy on UFOs, the Director of Air Staff said in a lengthy response to a Freedom of Information request: "The Ministry of Defence does not have any expertise or role in respect of 'UFO (or) flying saucer' matters or to the question of the existence or otherwise of extraterrestrial life forms, about which it remains totally open-minded.