NEWLY-released records show that there have been dozens of reported sightings of UFOs in Gwent. LISA STEVENS investigates whether aliens could already be among us.

From UFOs hovering over Abergavenny to Little Green Men wandering the Brecon Beacons - it seems Gwent residents are far from alone. According to the UK's answer to the X-Files you could soon see ET calling home from Ebbw Vale.

The recently released records of the National Space Centre in Leicester show Gwent is a hotbed of extra-terrestrial activity.

Collected over the past five years, the hundreds of eyewitness accounts from the county include dozens of dramatic reports of fleets of "metallic sphere" UFOs repeatedly seen gathering over the area.

Since 1999, the UFOs have often been sighted hovering near the towns of Ebbw Vale, Abergavenny and Abertillery, leading many to believe in a coming "War of the Worlds" situation.

And in August 2003 a woman named only as "Joanna" claimed an alien abduction in the Brecon Beacons.

She explained: "Something was trying to suck the skin off my face. I wanted to use my hands to stop it but I was unable to move. It stopped after about three horrible seconds and I was then able to move again but I still felt unwell."

Armed with these chilling eyewitness reports and in true Mulder and Scully-style, the Argus took to the streets of Abergavenny in fearless pursuit of the extra terrestrials.

But despite much painstaking research, the only flying saucers to be found in the market town were in the coffee shops.

Yet Abergavenny residents are more than open to the idea of neighbours of the extra-terrestrial kind.

Carol White, waitress at the Hen and Chicken pub, said: "As a child I remember seeing lots of strange lights on Sugar Loaf mountain. I haven't seen any aliens myself around here...but you never know."

Chris Keward from Monmouth agreed: "You just don't know what else could be out there, it would be arrogant to think we were the only ones." Chas Bishop, chief executive of the National Space Centre, also believes the truth is out there. "We live in a world where what was once science fiction is now science fact, so do we continue to take the view that people who believe in aliens are bonkers or say it's worth taking a closer look?"