Birthday boy Colin scotches UFO tales

Our video is silent but shows how the lights appeared in the sky

A Telford grandfather has claimed responsibility for a spate of UFO sightings in the skies above Shropshire.

Colin Turner, of Dunlin Close, Leegomery, dismissed as "nonsense" any suggestion that aliens had landed in the county.

He insisted the weird orange light reported by several people on March 10 had in fact been a Chinese sky lantern launched to celebrate his 60th birthday.

Mr Turner, a customer services officer with Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "My colleague Judith Mann gave me the lantern as a surprise birthday present.

"I didn't know anything about these lanterns until then. They consist of a round or square-shaped paper globe in which you light a bit of candle wax.

"The heat makes it rise just like a mini hot air balloon and the flame shines as an orange light through the paper."

Mr Turner said he was unable to light his lantern on his birthday, March 4, due to the weather so he left it until a clear night on March 10.

"I lit it at 9.45pm from the garden of my home, held it until I felt it starting to rise and then let it go. It went straight up into the sky, floating towards Wellington and The Wrekin. It looked wonderful. The Chinese tradition is to make a wish as you send it on its way."

There were several sightings of orange lights in Shropshire on March 10 and another series of sightings on the weekend of March 28 and 29. Philip Hoyle, of the UFO Investigation and Research Unit in Shrewsbury, is investigating.

Shropshire has gained a reputation for the weird and wonderful in the last few years, making the national top 10 for sightings of "big cats" and UFOs.

By Peter Johnson