by Luke Hollands

Could declassified government documents, revealed to the public for the first time this week, be proof aliens have visited Kent?

The documents, released as part of a three-year project by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the National Archives, include dozens of strange sightings in the county between 1994 and 2000.

Among them is a letter written to the MOD in January 1995 from a man living in Dartford who claimed to have had alien 'receivers' inserted into his brain through a process of sexual attraction.

In a hand-written letter he wrote: "By attaching or implanting receivers to my head and transmitting directly to my brain has caused me anger, frustration and severe unhappiness."

In a report from August 1997 a Tonbridge resident is said to have telephoned the MOD after spying a large apple-like object in the skies above their town. The report describes the UFO as "much bigger than a star, like a large apple thing. Exploded and sparkled like a fire work then fizzled out."

Also recorded from August 1997 is a letter from a Gillingham resident claiming to have secret documents proving the existence of UFOs and aliens. Writing in the letter they said: "I have come across a document which you might be interested in. For years the government has denied the existence of UFOs and aliens but this document says and seems to show reports of objects in the sky."

The most widely reported account is one which refers to the sighting of a UFO above the house of Folkestone and Hythe MP Michael Howard, when he was Home Secretary.

An investigation was launched into the sighting over his Lympne home. It shows a "triangular object with lights" was spotted in the sky near the house in March 1997.

A number of people reported the sighting - but Mr Howard was unaware of it.
Incidents recorded elsewhere in the country include a West Lothian electrician who spotted a 'Toblerone-shaped' UFO hovering over a field and a Birmingham man who claimed to have a jam jar containing a silky-white substance left by a UFO in his back garden.