Brian was fascinated to read about mum-of-four Neala Fenton, from New Herrington, whose mobile-phone footage of mysterious blue and pink lights appeared on the Echo's website.

Brian, from Shiney Row, has been scanning the skies ever since.
And his patience was rewarded when he saw strange lights above his caravan at Beamish Hall.

He took a series of snaps with his digital camera, and hopes someone may be able to shed some light on what he saw.

Brian, 64, said: "It was a nice night and the sky was clear. I have got a new camera, so I thought I would try it out.

"I saw two stars next to the moon. When I looked again, I saw it wasn't two stars – it was light reflecting on the side of the craft.

"I ran back in and got my camera and took some pictures. It was there for about 10 minutes, then it clouded over.

"No doubt about it – it was a UFO. I could not believe what I was looking at."

It's not the first time mysterious objects have been spotted over the North East.

Bright, orange-coloured orbs were seen floating over Seaham in August 2006.

The Ministry of Defence was set to investigate, but party pranksters with glowing lanterns were found to be the culprits.

Shocked Neil Carter was putting rubbish out at his Sunderland home when he saw a strange banana-shaped object in the sky.

Mr Carter, 40, from Monkwearmouth, said: "At first it appeared to be very small and was bobbing up and down in the sky. Then it dropped down a bit and got bigger.

"It was all a bit of a shock, because there was nothing else in the sky and there appeared to be no explanation as to what it might be."

A five-foot pear-shaped piece of silver metal was spotted hurtling towards the ground in Hendon in 2000.

Officials at Newcastle Airport were alerted after a similar sighting above Penshaw.

There was a spate of UFO sightings in April 1996, with 70 suspected incidents over Tyne and Wear.

* Did you see the object? Or have you seen something else in the skies over Sunderland? Contact reporter Jane O'Neill, tel: 565 8557.