Could the truth be out there in the skies above Whitstable?

Witnesses who spotted unexplained “fireballs” flying over the town and sea on Saturday evening are convinced it is.

Drinkers came out of pubs and couples came out on to the street to watch the five or six orange globes that seemed to be flying in formation without making any sound.

And as they gaped at the sky, one of the “fireballs” seemed to break away, head towards earth at speed and then disappear.

Samuel Dobson, chef at the Quayside in Harbour Street, said that it was the talk of the pub. “People were really shocked by it,” he said.

“There was no noise to it and I am really not sure what it could be.

“Quite a few people seem to have seen them but no one so far has come up with an explanation.”

Mary Louis was returning to her home in Woodlawn Street with her children when she saw the lights in the sky.

“We had been to a concert in Thanet and as I got out of the car I immediately saw them,” she said.

“It was very weird. I thought at first they were helicopters but they just looked wrong – they didn’t look like any kind of normal aircraft.”

Little green men

The lights were reported to the police and coastguards and a spokesman said there could be a number of explanations.

“It could have been some kind of shipping activity at sea, meteorological phenomenon or even little green men,” he said.

“We get quite a lot of these reports but they are not usually matters for the coastguard.”

John Kemp, of the South East Kent Astronomical Society, said the description did not fit any astronomical phenomenon.

“Sometimes you can get a bright meteor that leaves a trail but it does not sound like that,” he said. “They sound more man-made than astronomical.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said they had not yet received reports of sightings over Whitstable.

But she added: “The MoD examines reports solely to establish whether UK airspace may have been compromised by hostile or unauthorised military activity.

“Unless there is evidence of a potential threat, there is no attempt to identify the nature of each sighting reported.”

*Did you see the strange objects in the sky? Share your experiences and photos with us by emailing whitstablegazette@thekmgroup.co.uk

Fireballs in the sky are nothing new, according to UFO experts.

And many are dismissed as special lanterns with flames inside that are released at weddings or other celebrations.

Michael Naisbitt, who runs www.ufo-blog.com said they were the most mis-identified aerial object over the last few years.

They are often described as looking like red or orange glowing orbs and can seem to fly in formation because they drift in the same direction with the wind