UK alien invasion

A student prank led to British Army and intelligence units being mobilised for fear that aliens were mounting an invasion of England, documents released recently by The National Archives show.

One of the files reveals how the RAF was inundated with calls one morning in 1967 after residents of southern England awoke to find six small beeping UFOs lying in a perfect line from the Isle of Sheppey to the Bristol Channel.

A bomb disposal unit blew up one of the UFOs, another was airlifted to the southeastern village of Aldermaston, and both the army and the Ministry of Defence's intelligence unit were mobilised for what was considered a real "alien invasion".

It was later discovered that engineering students at Farnborough Technical College had constructed and positioned the UFOs in a bid to raise money for charity.