Like a plot from ’90s supernatural thriller the X- Files, Islington has been the scene of a series of mysterious UFO sightings in the last year.

From silvery orbs in King’s Cross, to mysterious craft in Canonbury, the borough has seen a glut of reports of unidentified flying objects during the last 12 months.

The Newington Green area was by far the busiest, with four suspected extra-terrestrial visitors spotted.

A witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I saw a round luminous object over the green. It was pretty big and flying quite low and slowly and went away into the clouds.”

Another witness walking through Canonbury noticed a strange object with bright lights. They said: “It moved like a hovercraft suddenly changing direction very quickly. I was in the air cadets for four years and was taught aircraft recognition, but this was like nothing I had seen before.”

Even festival goers weren’t immune to the phenomenon. Charmaine Morgan, who was at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park, said: “The last act was on the main stage – Crazy Horse. My friend had gone to watch but I decided against it. Instead I found myself looking up a the night sky, despite some drizzle. I then realised that hovering above the crowds were three disc-like objects in formation.

She added: “At first I thought they were part of the act. I looked for cables or beams but could see nothing and they were high up anyway – approximately 100ft.”

Until December 2009, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) had a dedicated line for people to report UFOs, but ditched it to save money for other things.

A statement read: “The MOD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over 50 years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the UK. MOD will no longer respond to reported UFO sightings or investigate them.”

Now UFO data is collected by independent organisations such as the British UFO Research Association or UK UFO, where the Islington sightings were logged:

John Wickham, from BUFORA said: “Since the MOD line has shut, we have seen a massive increase in calls. Most things can be explained with a little bit of research, although if it’s a military craft the MOD are happy to call it a UFO to keep their secrets. But we always respect everyone’s beliefs.”

Roy Lake, 72, who runs London UFO Studies and has been studying UFOs for more than 50 years, said: “Most sightings are logged on the internet now and things are more active than ever.

“There is definitely something going on – these things are seen all over the world.

“London and Islington are very common places for sightings. I remember a big one near the Angel many years ago. Obviously some are hoaxes and a lot turn out to be Chinese lanterns, or even military craft that we don’t know about.”

n Have you seen strange lights in the sky above Islington that you can’t explain? Email Gazette reporter Jon Dean with details of the time, place and kind of sighting plus any pictures: jon.dean@archant.co.uk