The Islington Gazette has been thrust into the centre of an Internet furore after video footage of a possible UFO sighting was uploaded onto its website.

The site was bombarded with thousands of visits from around the world after moving images of strange lights over Archway in north London – witnessed by hundreds of people – were posted.

The video prompted a 400 per cent increase in traffic for the site, from 9,000 to more than 36,000 page views for the week.

Users logged on to the site to watch the 30-second video shot by a reader, and many responded to the Archant newspaper’s invitation to e-mail the newsdesk with their views on the phenomenon.

Many more readers reported seeing up to 50 orange lights floating over the area, while web viewers from as far away as France, Germany, the United States, Canada and Australia e-mailed their verdict on the film.

Islington Gazette editor Tony Allcock said: “We were surprised and delighted that the story and video created so much comment from so far afield.

“There is clearly a lot of world interest in UFO sightings and the possibility of alien life out there.

“The success of the video reinforced the importance of the web, both to our business and as an interactive tool for our readers.”

Many of the e-mails to the paper thought the film did indeed show some form of alien encounter, but others agreed with the theory that the lights were, in fact, large party balloons called “sky lanterns” which can be bought for just a few pounds and can fly up to 2,000 feet high.

To judge for yourself click here.