AN Alvechurch couple who have spent approximately 16 years researching UFOs, have seen their first book on the subject published.

John Hanson and partner Dawn Holloway have been working on a series of volumes dating from 1940 to 2008 which catalogues a day-by-day account of UFO activity in the UK.

Their publication, available on Amazon, is the first in a series called Haunted Skies and comes at a time when the MOD is releasing previously classified documents about unexplained sightings.

Retired West Mercia police officer, Mr Hanson, said: “The MOD records do not actually reflect how very prolific UFO activity has been in this country.”

The couple are well aware that the subject is often ridiculed so in their quest for a comprehensive record of significant sightings, many reports have been dismissed as flights of fancy. Those that remain, published in Haunted Skies, are those that to this day remain inexplicable.

Mr Hanson’s fascination for UFO sightings was heightened when he encountered one of his own.

He said: “I was standing outside the Crown pub in Alvechurch with my son Keith watching the sky from the canal bridge next to the public house, when suddenly appeared two gigantic white circular objects as if bolted together like a huge pair of car headlights. They swept silently over the celestial arc of the sky and disappeared below the horizon towards Redditch. The sighting left us feeling exhilarated.”

Alien beings also feature with one account from a woman in Kidderminster, and another from a Northumberland resident who claimed he was “drawn” on board a craft for a medical examination.