But, UK UFO expert Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, believes he knows what is causing the crop in sightings – and it is from outer space.

Venus has been visible in the night sky since the start of the new year and he believes it is the planet which is behind the huge rise in claims.

Mr Watson said: “The latest crop of UFO videos in the UK and Europe might well be due to the current brightness and visibility of Venus in our night skies. 

“It not only looks strange to human observers but when videoed can appear even odder due to lens reflections, autofocusing and the motion of the camera that can give the illusion a stationary object is darting about.”

“It would be interesting to know if the witnesses saw this light turn into a halo, or whether they just saw a distant light. 

“The light itself might have been Venus. 

“It is doubtful it was a satellite as some claim, as a satellite would not be as bright and it would be moving through the sky. 

“Another possibility is that it was a drone carrying a light.

He pointed to a video on YouTube entitled “A Real Huge, Silent, Triangular UFO Hovering Nr Bitterne, Southampton, Hants, UK” which was posted this month.

He said: “It looks impressive but could well be Venus and reflections on a window.”

Mr Watson also looked at footage of a green UFO taken in Salento, Italy, at around 8pm on January 9 by Lucio Margiotta and posted on Facebook.

He said: “The light in the sky that turns into a ring of light looks impressive, but much of the mystery was probably caused by the smartphone used to video this event.

“It is noteworthy that the distant light only turns into a halo when Lucio Margiotta zooms in on it, which suggests that the autofocus system of the camera is distorting the light to produce this unusual effect. 

“Other independent witnesses said they also saw this light, but without further details we can only assume at this stage that the video is just a product of the smartphone technology rather than the product of aliens intent on surveying our planet in preparation for the day they finally reveal themselves to us.”

There have also been reports in local media of people believing there as a spaceship over Watford earlier this month, when Venus was visible near the moon.

Mr Watson’s theory appears to be backed by an Express.co.uk report from September 2015.

Then we reported how a man recorded a series of bizarre shapes when he zoomed in on what he knew to be Venus over New York.