Original headline: 'UFO' alert put down to meteor
Fears of an imminent invasion by little green men proved unfounded last week when people spotted an unidentified flying object hover over Wells [Somerset].
Spookily the UFO was seen above Underwood Quarry which is owned by top defence system manufacturers Thales. The company is often involved in secret work.
People said it was a white, disc-shaped object that not only hovered but then did a banked circle before it shot out of sight.
Peter Spencer, sales and marketing director for Thales said: "We are not launching UFOs from our facilities, nor am I aware of what the sightings might be, nor am I at liberty to comment on what we might be doind at that facility."
BBC weather man Richard Angwin came up with a solution to the problem.
He said: "From the descriptions we have received, the most likely explanation is that it is some sort of meteor or broken up space debris in the atmosphere.
"Often dust particles will travel at such a speed that they will burn up and appear more impressive than they really are.
"There is so much space junk floating around in the upper part of the stmosphere. Ameteor is the most likely explanation."
But Glastonbury-based UFO expert Alan Foster remains sceptical. "Meteors and space debris are always the explanations put forward.
"If people say that they have seen an illuminated disc as close quarters then that is what they have seen. People are not stupid."
