Accounts of UFO encounters showcased in Suffolk exhibition

Gwen saw an incredibly bright red light descend into a field in front of her before it went over the top of her car

Accounts of apparent UFO encounters have been made public in a new exhibition.

Photographer Alexander Ward is behind the Apex exhibition at Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum in Kesgrave.

"Some people I spoke to had just seen a light in the sky, but others had really significant and sometimes traumatic experiences," he said.

Mr Ward has been interested in the subject since he was a teenager when he had his own potential alien encounter.

Tony was 17 when he saw a smooth inverted cone object in the sky covered in lights

"I saw a triangle in the sky when I was 17 and living in Essex. I've always been open to the subject, but I didn't want to steer this project in one way or another.

"I want people who come along to the exhibition to make up their own minds," he said.

Mr Ward said he wanted to tell the human experiences behind the strange encounters, rather than proving or disproving them.

"I really wanted to understand how people had these experiences and how it changed their view of the world. I wanted to do their experiences justice," he said.

Alan was with his mother when they saw a bright light hovering and zig-zagging over their village in Essex

He spent a lot of time reassuring his subjects that he was not intending to make fun of them.

"It was really hard getting into the communities and getting them to trust me to tell their story," he said.

"Many photographers have tried to make a mockery of this subject in the past, so a big part of it was gaining their trust."

Geoff saw a UFO hovering silently above a reservoir and later observed it with his wife and children

Mr Ward said the project had convinced him of the existence of extra-terrestrial life.

"We all have our lines in the sand in our mind of what we are prepared to believe in and this project has really shifted that.

Alexander Ward has been interested in UFOs since he saw a strange light in the sky aged 17

"We are such a tiny grain of sand compared to the vastness of the universe and it would be very strange if we were on our own," he added.

The exhibition is being held in an old cold war bunker at the aviation museum, which was involved in one of the most famous purported UFO sightings in history at Rendlesham forest.

The exhibition takes place until Sunday.