WITH the truth of why the Ministry of Defence closed its UFO desk in 2009 now being out there, we ask if strange sightings are taken seriously enough.

It has been revealed the decision to close the desk, and its accompanying UFO ‘hotline’;, was taken because it served "no defence purpose" and was taking staff away from "more valuable defence-related activities".

In a briefing for then defence minister Bob Ainsworth in November 2009, Carl Mantell, of the RAF's Air Command, said that in more than 50 years "no UFO sighting reported to (MoD) has ever revealed anything to suggest an extra-terrestrial presence or military threat to the UK".

The information comes as 25 files are released by the National Archives covering the work carried out in the final two years of the MoD's UFO desk, from late 2007 until November 2009. They include accounts of alleged abductions and contact with aliens and UFO sightings near UK landmarks.

Usually stories about strange objects seen in the sky are greeted with derision and ridicule, as this recent article about something odd seen over Bromley illustrates.

However, are people too quick to mock others who report unidentified flying objects? Can the subject ever be taken seriously or will people who claim to have seen UFOs always be dismissed as crazy?

While most sightings are given plausible explanations, some remain mysteries. Do you believe there might actually be alien life out there somewhere? How do you think we might one day discover its existence? Add your comments below.