Has Suffolk been visited by aliens?

NEWLY-released government files suggest that many people believe we have been visited by aliens from other worlds - but today Suffolk people remain deeply suspicious about whether we have been visited by little green men.

The newly-released Ministry of Defence UFO files contain everything from calm accounts by professional pilots to unhinged rants about the extraterrestrial menace.

One of the more eccentric letters sent to the department, dated March 1990, was from a woman claiming to be an alien.

She said her spaceship came down in Britain during the Second World War and was recovered by the military.

"The crashed vehicle contained two males from Spectra, a planet orbiting the star Zeta Tucanae, and a female from one of the two inhabited planets in the Sirius system, Amazon the planet of warrior women. That female was me," she wrote.

It is unclear whether the letter was tongue-in-cheek or sincere, but the MoD appears not to have replied.

Another letter, dated January 1991, tells of an encounter with two aliens who landed their flying saucer next to a railway track near Warminster Army barracks in Wiltshire.

The author, who was writing during the Gulf War, commented: "Saddam Hussein might be a threat to world peace but he won't last long, we hope not.

"Flying saucers are a bigger threat, they can sneak in and out without getting caught. We don't know how many there are or what weapons they carry.'

But on the streets of Ipswich, few people believed there had been any close encounters - although some were not prepared to discount the idea of life in other parts of the universe.

Glenn Williamson, 28, from Ipswich, said: “I believe there is something more outside this planet. However I am not convinced by UFO sightings because it often turns out that they can be explained.

“Whenever you hear about UFOs, there is more often than not an explanation behind it.”

Gary Sherman, 25, from Ipswich, said: “I think it is either arrogant or naïve to think we are the only people here. Considering the size of the universe, there is bound to be something out there.

“I think there is definitely something in the idea of UFOs.”

Jean Pattle, 70, from Holbrook, said: “I do not believe in aliens or little green men or anything like that.

“If all that stuff existed, I think it would have happened before now. I don't really believe in anything to do with UFOs.”

Pat Riches, 75, from Holbrook, said: “I cannot believe that there is other stuff out there. It just doesn't seem possible.

“I saw the piece on the news about UFOs but I didn't pay much attention because I don't believe in anything like that.”

Cordelia Rushby, 41, from Ipswich: “I have not had any close encounters myself and don't believe in UFOs at all.

“My father used to say there were lots of strange activities going on with his computer which was very odd but I always think you can explain everything that happens.”

Michael Underwood, 58, from Ipswich, said: “I generally don't believe in UFOs but I do think there was something odd about the sighting in Rendlesham Forest in 1980.

“I think something was hushed up because it did not seem quite right.”