Newly released UFO files from the National Archives show that the UK’s most enduringly fascinating sighting remains the Rendlesham Forest incident, in 1980, when US servicemen reported encounters with aliens in Suffolk woodland.
Dr. David Clarke, who has analysed all the documents, said it was topic that recurred far more than any other in the files.
He said that “almost half” of all UFO correspondence directed at defence officials, relates to request for information, or “tip-offs” about the 33-year-old incident.
“It is the one case that is outstanding, from all the sightings going back 40 or 50 years,” he added.
“There is no way you will be able to get to the truth of what happened because like a snowball rolling down the hill, the stories have been more and more embellished.”
The incident involved a group of American servicemen stationed at military bases in Suffolk who went into the forest to investigate mysterious lights.