THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Mysterious UFOs in the skies above six US states are causing widespread panic in America. Are they alien invaders, secret government drones, or harbingers of sinister foreign-state plots, and could the UK be next?

-  Peter Sheridan

THE strange lights in the sky are real. The panic across America is real. But is it an alien invasion? A terrorist attack? A foreign spying mission? A sick hoax? Or is the US government deliberately spreading fear among its T own citizens? And could Britain be next? There are more questions than answers as millions of Americans worry about the bright orbs and triangular objects that are increasingly swarming the night skies.

More than 3,000 UFOs, some allegedly as large as SUVs, have been reported to the FBI in recent weeks over six Eastern states, sparking widespread alarm and fevered conspiracy theories. A disturbingly large number of people believe they are alien craft, possibly on an exploratory mission before invading Earth.

Many suspect the fast-moving lights in the inky firmament are drones - but fear they could be harbingers of foreign enemies or terrorist attacks.

Yet more believe they are US government spy drones. "The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on," claims controver sial Georgia Taylor Greene.

A paranoid minority even suspect the drones are part of President Joe Biden's plan to stage a fake alien invasion, provoking mass panic as a means to impose authoritar ian rule and remain in the White House indefinitely.

President-elect Donald Trump had a typi cally brutish response to the swarming drones: "Shoot them down!" The FBI appears bewildered.

Spokeswoman Amy Thoreson admits: "Unfortunately, we don't have many answers, and we don't want to guess or hypothesise about what's going on."

In New Jersey, dozens of mystery drone sightings are being reported nightly, and congressman Chris Smith says: "Residents are very alarmed." State Governor Phil Murphy laments: "It's really frustrating that we don't have more answers".