Strange lights seen over Norton last week were probably paper Chinese lanterns.

Press reader Tarek Ghouri said: “I have lit some my self in Thirsk and the town was alive with stories of UFOs.

“The lanterns are very large. About 5ft high, made of tissue paper and a little parafin burner at the base and you light them. They go very high and can be seen for a long time. Impressively, they do look like a UFO once they reach a certain height. They appear to fizzle out as they pass through cloud.”