Recently released files of previously secret UFO reports have shown Sutton Coldfield and Erdington as two of the places where mysterious activity has been rife. The Ministry of Defence paperwork had been kept under wraps until last week, when they were finally released from the vaults for anybody to see. And the previously classified documents, which cover the years 1986 to 1992, have some fascinating reports of strange sights in the skies of North Birmingham. The biggest report comes from Sutton Coldfield in 1992, on February 18. An amazing 44 different people saw the same unusual object hovering above the skies. For two hours between 12.15pm and 2.15pm, witnesses reported seeing an unidentified flying object ranging from the size of a large car to that of a football pitch. Many described bright lights coming from the craft, which changed between a green, silver and blue colour. The report stated that those who saw the object estimated it to be flying at about 3000 feet, just below the clouds. It was stationary for four to 15 seconds, added numerous bemused onlookers, before "moving off at a high speed in an easterly direction". The file goes on to say that the fascinating case, which was reported to West Midlands Police and the local press, remained unsolved. UFO spotters would not be too surprised by this incident though, as experts believe Birmingham is only behind Shrewsbury as the hotspot for such activity. Elsewhere in the region, officials were baffled by five separate UFO sightings in Erdington across two months during 1987, with three on the same day on May 24. These unsolved cases are typical of the thousands of others included in the files released to the National Archives by the MoD. Highlights included the near collision of a passenger jet and UFO in Kent and the pilots of a US Air Force jet being ordered to shoot down a strange craft over East Anglia. In correspondence between witnesses and the MoD, Whitehall officials said they remained "open minded" about visitors from outer space and would only fully investigate if there was any evidence of a threat to national security. * Were you one of the witnesses to the 1992 UFO? Have you seen anything else strange in the skies? If so give us a call on 0121 355 8953. | 
