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This article was published in the daily newspaper The Burnley Express, Lancashire, U-K., on October 6, 2006.
Well that's certainly the view of Mr Fred Scott (62), who claims to have seen a UFO hovering in the sky near his home in Briercliffe Road, Burnley.
The retired fork-lift truck driver was having a cigarette at his front door at around 9 p.m. last Thursday when he spotted a flashing light in the night sky.
He ran to fetch his camcorder and recorded the object for a few seconds before it disappeared in a flash. Unable to contact Mulder and Scully, Mr Scott got in touch with the Burnley Express to tell of his strange sighting.
He said: "I was just having a quiet cigarette outside my house when I saw this strange object in the sky. I didn't particularly believe in UFOs or aliens before, but now I'm not so sure.
"After I'd been filming it for a few seconds it shot off in a sideways direction. I don't know of any plane that does that."
Mr Scott is the latest in a long line of Burnley people over the years to have spotted "something" in the air. The grandfather of six says his younger relatives were understandably excited when he showed them the film. On seeing the UFO, he cried out to his wife Maureen: "Get the kettle on, they're coming."
The Burnley Express contacted UFO expert, Mr Russell Callaghan, editor of the UFO Data magazine, who described the sighting as "very interesting".
Mr Callaghan, who has been studying UFO sightings for years, said: "The Pennine Corridor in East Lancashire is renowned for UFO sightings, although it is very difficult to ascertain what most of them are.
"It becomes more difficult when something is seen in the night sky as it could be a plane, helicopter or even a heavenly body such as a star.
"However, the fact that this object apparently shoots off to the side very quickly is interesting and very unusual. I would like to see footage of this sighting so I can make a more accurate observation."
