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In a world where what was once science fiction is now science fact, i.e. designer babies, animal cloning, video calling, etc, can we continue to ignore the growing numbers of people who claim to be victims of UFO abductions?

Everyone has heard about people claiming to have been abducted by extraterrestrial beings, but how seriously are they taken, and more importantly, do you believe them? Their stories often share a common format - bright lights, vague memories of operations, and then a sudden reawakening with an unexplainable loss of time.

According to the BBC News, every year, there are around 300 reported alien sightings in the UK, but there is no actual figure for the number of alien abductions that take place during the same period. Those who believe in the extraterrestrial phenomenon say that this is due to the fact that victims of alien abductions are too scared to come forward and report their experience to police, believing that they will be ridiculed instead of being treated as a real "victim". Sceptics doubt this thinking, arguing that so-called "victims" are, in fact, hallucinating or imagining their experiences, maybe after watching one too many episodes of the 'X Files'.

However, reports of alien sightings and abductions are not just twentieth century fads, as they date back to hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) researchers have found evidence of this in old cave paintings, folklore and myth, but there is no way of knowing if these events actually took place on earth in ancient times. One story, allegedly reported by the Anglo-Saxon scholar, Venerable Bede, in AD 664, tells of a nun who watched a corpse being "carried upwards", an event which has been interpreted by some to suggest that some sort of abduction was taking place.

Others have strong beliefs that the Bible refers to alien abductions and sightings, where demons or fallen angels have been able to manifest themselves into creatures whose purpose was to deceive and lead mankind into believing in a false religion. For example, Satan was said to have been able to masquerade himself as an angel of light', (II Corinthians 11:14), and in I Timothy 4:1 he states, 'The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.' Could this have been the prophesy of the UFO phenomenon and the rise of cults such as the Raelian Movement, (an organisation created in 1973 to establish an embassy for extra-terrestrials)?

More recent theoretical arguments, developed in the latter part of the twentieth century, suggest that the abduction phenomenon is inter-generational, meaning that if a person is an abductee, then the possibility that their mother or father has had an abduction experience is extremely high. This theory was first introduced in 1981, by the world-renowned UFO abduction researcher, Budd Hopkins, which allowed researchers to trace abduction experiences back through the generations, to the late 1890s.

Despite this and other scientific research into alien abductions, many critics have maintained their view that those who claim to be "victims" of abduction simply suffer from sleep disorders. Newspaper reports in February 2003 confirmed this thinking, when revelations that alien abductions, along with ghosts and other paranormal visions, were all results of a condition called sleep paralysis. In a study of ten adults who claimed to have been abducted by aliens, Professor Richard McNally of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, found that they all suffered from the condition. At an annual conference in Denver, Colorado, he told the American Association for the Advancement of Science that in sleep paralysis, victims begin to awake from a deep sleep, (known as rapid eye movement sleep), and become partially conscious of their surroundings, though they remain paralysed. "At this point, elements of dreams can still intrude into wakefulness. The person will often say they see figures in the room. They will say, 'I sensed a presence, these looming figures next to me', lights flashing, electrical sensations coursing through their body, a feeling they are levitating off the bed, buzzing sounds and the like." How these experiences are interpreted largely depend on the person's culture, Professor McNally added. "The phenomenon of sleep paralysis has been reported in many different ways in many different cultures throughout history. In the Middle Ages, it was interpreted as being visited by agents of the Devil.'

Abductees and "UFOlogists", as scientists looking into the alien phenomenon are sometimes called, refuse to acknowledge Professor McNally's research, even though some sufferers of the sleep condition have voiced their own opinions, somewhat agreeing with McNally. H. Coleman commented on a BBC website, "As someone who regularly suffers from sleep paralysis, I can see why many sufferers mistake the experience with that of alien abductions. Paralysis, combined with visual hallucinations and feelings of intense fear, are common symptoms of this condition. As I am sceptical of aliens and the paranormal I do not relate my experiences with an abduction, however I do see a spirit like entity. I know it is not real, but it seems to be there. If I had believed in aliens before I started having these episodes, I can well imagine that I would be another alien abduction statistic."

Reports of alien sightings and abductions in the UK are relatively few compared to countries like the US, where there appears to be a much larger following of extraterrestrial activity. The population of sci-fi enthusiasts is so big that the Americans have not confined their interest to celluloid representations, they have gone so far as to establish a National UFO Reporting Centre in Seattle. Although there is no such centre in the UK, there have been many new organisations over the years, with the sole purpose of investigating further into UFO sightings and activities, including the Flying Saucer Working Party in the 1950s, which was set up by the Ministry of Defence. Whereas our American counterparts in the White House play down their involvement in UFO research, the British Government during the 1950s right through to the 1990s, actively sought explanations for the unusual and sometimes unexplainable sightings, and compiled a top secret file of all UFO investigations. Even the former Aircraft Secretariat, Nick Pope, believes that he was once abducted by aliens whilst driving in Florida.

Though there are doubts about Pope's own abduction, there are firm believers in the paranormal in the UK, which in the past has led to certain MP's posing questions regarding UFOs to the Prime Minister. In 1993, MP Teddy Taylor unsuccessfully asked the then Tory Government to comment on the powers the European Commission had to give funding to the Euro Unidentified Flying Objects Observation Centre. In 1996, MP Martin Redmond called on John Major to comment on the allocation of the investigation of UFOs to a particular department, to which Major replied: "The air defence and air traffic implications of unidentified flying objects are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence and the Civil Aviation Authority respectively. The Government have no plans to allocate resources to researching extraterrestrial phenomena."

Therefore, if successive British Governments do not believe that there is any real threat to the public, should individuals take action themselves? Well, if you fear being abducted by aliens, maybe you should take out insurance with the UFO Abduction Insurance Company, which insures people for $10 million in the event that you are abducted by those little bug-eyed creatures. (Of course, compensation is subject to terms and conditions, one of them being proof of abduction).

The alien phenomenon is difficult to understand as it is, but with so many conflicting cases, theories and views, it seems that for the time being, we'll all have to agree to disagree.

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