TIMES Territory became a hotbed of UFO activity last weekend with dozens of residents spotting mysterious lights in the sky.

The WHT reported last week that several people had reported seeing a "spacecraft" around Hatfield and WGC.

But only now - after our newsdesk was swamped with calls from eye-witnesses - can we reveal the full magnitude of the event.

Readers young and old claim to have seen bright orange lights flying smoothly in a triangular formation, pulling off manoeuvres that no 21st century aircraft could achieve.

Many people who found themselves staring at the night sky last Friday, Saturday and Sunday initially believed they were about to watch a catastrophic air crash.

The WHT contacted Luton Airport to check if there could be a more rational explanation for the phenomena.

But a spokeswoman confirmed that, to her knowledge, there had been no scheduled fly pasts of planes or helicopters through the area.

Here is a selection of eye-witness reports from Welwyn Hatfield residents:

Lauren Sullivan, of Barnard Green, WGC, was enjoying a bonfire party on Sunday night with around 10 other friends when she spotted the lights.

She even managed to capture the moment on video camera although the footage is too dark to print in the paper.

She said: "Logic said it must have been something like a firework but it just didn't go out.

"I'd like to think it was a UFO and I do like watching things about them on TV. I'd like to believe there's something out there!"

Jo and Frank McNally, of Sweet Briar, WGC, were on their way to a party on Saturday night when they pulled their car over to watch the lights.

"They went right over the top of us," said Jo, 36.

"There was no noise or anything. We just stood there in total disbelief. It's the kind of thing you never think you will see.

"We got to the party and everyone was like 'yeah right!'. Nobody believed us!"

Sally Metcalfe, 43, of Heronswood Place, WGC, said last Friday night was the second time her family had seen an Unidentified Flying Object this year.

"We were so rattled by what we saw," she said. "And I'm not the type of person who drinks a lot or hallucinates!"

Anthony Hawkins, 33, of Newfields, WGC, was walking to a friend's house on Sunday evening when he spotted the lights flying in a V formation.

He said: "They were about half-a-mile away and 100ft off the ground at a guess.

"I phoned my wife to tell her and she said 'don't be so stupid, it's a firework!' But I know what a firework looks like.

"This is basically what a UFO is, 'unidentified'. There might be some rational explanation but I couldn't work out what."

Amateur astronomer Rob Bentley, 45, of Mount Way, WGC, said he was used to watching satellites re-entering Earth's atmosphere but what his family witnessed last Sunday night was totally different.

"I've never seen anything like this before," he said.

"It gave me a cold shudder at first. Then I thought it had to be a helicopter but there was no noise. My kids were gobsmacked."

Christine and Alan Evans, of Moorlands, WGC, saw the lights late on Sunday night.

"My husband saw it first," said Christine, 65.

"Being an ex-policeman he knew it wasn't a helicopter or firework. We both rushed to the window and said 'God, there's going to be an air crash!'. But nothing happened and there was no noise.

"I promise you we weren't drinking! It was amazing."

Your questions answered

WITH so many baffling UFO sightings last weekend, we asked American UFO investigator Chris Augustin to shed some light on the matter.

Are the orange lights our readers have described a common occurrence in UFO sightings?

Many people have reported seeing such orbs of light. There have been a lot of sightings in the past several months where witnesses described formations of lights just like these.

They have been spotted flying in a triangular formation of between three and 12 lights - is this 'common'?

One of the most common shapes that UFOs are reported is a triangular shape. Many times, these are very large triangular craft, that fly silently, or sometimes emit a low humming sound. The large triangular crafts have been seen worldwide, but became prevalent in Belgium in the late 80s early 90s.

Any idea what they are? Actual space crafts? Balls of energy?

With many other sightings, these balls of light are identified to be individual objects, they tend to fly back and forth, sometimes merging or separating with other lights, but tend to move in an organised formation for long durations. These lights can number anywhere from one to dozens.

How many sightings are there roughly a day?

On average, the number of UFO sightings reported to MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) and NUFORC (National UFO Research Center) per month are around 250 to 300. This is just in the US.

What would you say to sceptics to convince them UFOs exist?

The first thing I ask people is if they accept the possibility of life on other planets. There's life on this one so, mathematically speaking, it'd be impossible for it not to exist elsewhere.

Once that issue is resolved, I present the multitude of evidence that has been collected. Every year, there are literally thousands of sightings reported, photographs taken, videos recorded, radar trackings identified, etc, that show UFOs performing manoeuvres that would be labelled impossible by conventional aircraft.

Many of these sightings can be explained away by traditional means, but it's that small percentage, where no explanation can be found that begs the question.

Do you subscribe to the well-known conspiracy theories that governments know about it/use alien technology/Area 51/Roswell, etc?

There's no doubt in my mind that our world powers have such knowledge. The Roswell crash gave our military and government some very advanced technology that they have been reverse engineering for years. I have personally visited Area 51 twice in the past few years.

Check out Chris's website at http://www.aliensthetruth.com

Open to alien attack

REPORTS of UFOs over Welwyn Hatfield come just days after a Government advisor warned our planet was open to an alien attack.

Nick Pope, who ran the Ministry of Defence UFO project from 1991 to 1994 was speaking after it was revealed his former department was being closed down.

He told Sky News there had been a series of "highly credible" alien sightings and landings in the UK.

"The X-Files have been closed down," he said.

"Frankly we are wide open. If something does not behave like a conventional aircraft now it will be ignored.

"The consequences of getting this one wrong could be huge.

More . . .

See Also: UFOs Recorded on Video in The Pennygate Area