County News: ‘UFO’ captured on camera in Sussex

Alan Harding set up his camera outside his Hastings home to capture the alignment of the moons of Jupiter on the night of the solar eclipse on March 18.

However, when he viewed the images he spotted a bright object which appeared to move around the sky over the space of 12 minutes.

“I didn’t notice it until I emphasised the images otherwise I would have stayed up all night,” he said.

After taking the images to several observatories he decided to seek the advice of UFO expert Malcolm Robinson.

Although his day job is selling adverts for the Observer series, Mr Robinson is a leading expert on UFOs and has just finished filming for a new Channel 5 documentary.

Speaking about Mr Harding’s images, he said: “My initial thought was that it may be lens flare – due to the nature of the bright planets sometimes there is flare to the left or the right.

“However, the gentleman assures me that it was not that and it certainly doesn’t look like that.

“My second thought was that something has flown into the camera shot like a gull but again, I don’t think it is that.”

Mr Robinson explained the vast majority of images turn out to be easily explained.

Of the remaining five per cent, three per cent is military or other advanced technology and one per cent is a new atmospheric phenomenon.

“The one per cent that remains, the fly in the ointment, that is what keeps scientists and ufologists the world over interested in the subject,” he said.

“It is great to have a local man coming up with not just a strange story but some great images.”

Mr Harding said: “I take millions of images, I’m a technological person and I know all the issues you get with lens.

“I have got no explanation for it.”