There seems to be a rash of UFO sightings over the past couple of months (Jupiter/Uranus anyone??) but this is a big one:

PEOPLE screamed and cars came to a halt when dozens of mysterious lights hovered thousands of feet above Archway.

The “squadron” of flying orange objects left passers-by staring skyward in disbelief at around 5.30pm last Thursday. Police received four calls within a matter of minutes.
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WHILE no one is in any doubt something happened in the sky above Archway last Thursday, experts are at odds over what caused the spooky sight.

The truth is out there – somewhere – and my search started with the account of eyewitness, James Zafar.

He said: “When I called 999 there was a big silence and then he came back on the phone and said we’ve tracked it by radar. Then he said, ‘you are real really lucky, you’ve just seen a meteor or shooting star.’

“They definitely mentioned the radar and that leads me to think they know all about this.”

But police would only confirm that they received a number of calls about the lights and that there was reference to radar and a meteor on their records. They could not say where this information came from.

Of course there was a skeptic who came up with this explanation:

[A]stronomer and self proclaimed “UFO sceptic” Ian Ridpath also dismissed any astronomical or climatic explanations.

He believes the phenomenon was caused by “sky lanterns” or “UFO balloons” – one-off miniature hot air balloons that can be ordered online for use at parties.

Mr Ridpath said: “These things are always being reported. This very probably is the most likely explanation. What surprises me is that someone hasn’t come along and said this is what they are.” …

But eyewitness Mr Zafar said: “They moved and then they stopped and then they moved again. They were under control. I totally disagree. I think someone is trying to dismiss the story.”

And Mr Cull added: “I don’t buy the balloon thing. When I first saw it, it was stationary and then it was moving above the hospital and then it moved towards the south.”

For eyewitnesses of Thursday’s extraordinary events at least, it seems the truth is still out there.