Britain's 11,000 UFO sightings in 30 years set to go public

London, June 23 : Britain's 'X-Files,' which include reports of more than 11,000 Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) sightings of the past 30 years, is set to be opened to the public for the first time.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) papers will release a total of 160 files - containing every reported sighting - to the National Archives.

The top-secret government records include various documents, reports of sightings and investigations by MoD staff.

Witnesses include airline pilots, and police who reported a white light descending from the sky in Woking, Surrey.

MoD decided to release the papers following a flood of requests from UFO buffs.

"There are a lot of conspiracy theories about military interest in UFOs," the Sun quoted University lecturer Dr David Clarke, who campaigned to have the files released, as saying.

"But the fact that these documents are being released shows there isn't a cover-up.

"What we are getting to see in these papers are facts. It's a good move on the part of the MoD to demonstrate what they know, which doesn't amount to much," he added.

The move of revealing the records comes following a report last week when a UFO threatened a police helicopter in the sky above Cardiff.

ANI