STEP aside Mulder and Scully and move over Ghostbusters as the Argus investigates the strange goings on in the skies above Newport.

As they say in sci-fi circles - the truth is out there, as David Deans found out...

ONE mother's birthday celebrations sent people in Newport on an alien hunting spree.

Orange orbs seen hovering over Newport in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, May 11 night may have been lanterns fired off at the end of a party.

Helen Willison said her family threw a Chinese themed party for her for her 40th birthday, and at the end lit a set of orange lanterns which hovered into the sky.

"We didn't quite expect this sort of reaction," she said. "We haven't stopped laughing about it."

The 50 lanterns were lit at midnight from her home in Christchurch, near Newport, and were more than a meter tall.

They were carried off into the sky by nothing more alien than a small fire lighter, which took them as high as 1500 feet.

"It's a Chinese tradition," she said. "You'd put a little wish on the latern and watch it go off into the night.

"We also had a team of Chinese lion dancers and a Chinese buffet, while the house was dressed in an oriental style."

One Ringland man told the Argus he saw a series of glowing orange lights filling the sky.

Mark Holmes, 48, of Stanford Road, described seeing eight flickering lights floating across the sky as he cut across a field to reach his girlfriend's home in Dowland Close.

Ian and Helen Willison's family home have become renowned for their parties.

Last year for their daughter Scarlett's fourth birthday the couple wrapped their home up in a bow made of crushed velvet and satin, and also hired two Barbie lookalikes for the occasion.

In 2006 the family held a circus party for her with clowns and jugglers. Ms Willison says she is planning a Hawaiian party for Scarlett this year.

  • To see the footage of the Chinese lanterns click here

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