UFOs serious 'area of study', says US academic

An American professor has claimed that the studying of UFOs should be a legitimate university subject.

According to Philip Haseley, the subject should be part of the mainstream as a serious "area of study", reports The Telegraph.

The Niagara County Community College, a state university in New York, lecturer said: "(A sighting) happens to millions of people (around the world).

"It's about time we looked into this as a worthy area of study.

"It's important that the whole subject be brought out in the open and investigated."

Haseley added: "To say we are UFO believers basically implies we are taking this on faith, and that's not the case. There's plenty of evidence."

"We have to deal with skeptics like any other UFO organisation, and we are perfectly willing to be critiqued," he told the Buffalo News in New York.

"We know people who think this is a nonsense subject. And we'll refer you to voluminous literature and facts about UFOs."

In 2009, there were almost 400 reported sightings to the Ministry of Defence of UFOs throughout Britain.