According to "Teh Sun", Dad Pat Regan and his 7-year-old daughter have taken a spectacular photo showing in detail the moment an alien spaceship tangled with a tornado over Lancashire.

You can see the green, disc-shaped craft in this high-definition photo - reminiscent of a still from Will Smith epic Independence Day - below.

The photograph almost certainly shows a sophisticated interstellar craft struggling to cope with a bit of weather over Blighty, thwarting any plans the alien pilots had of landing and probing body cavities. Said Regan, "he probably took one look at the weather and thought twice about landing!"

Regan, 51, a mythology writer whose job involves making up improbable stories in order to make money from publishers, only spotted the UFO after editing the digital photo on his computer. "I noticed this weird speck. I blew it up and there it was — a UFO hovering right beside the twister."

The Sun spoke to a Met Office spokesman and showed them the clear, irrefutable evidence, only for the government-employed shill to deny all knowledge "Tornadoes occur about 30 times a year in the UK," said the conspirator, "but it’s the first time I’ve heard of a UFO spotted close to one."

This incident is just the latest in a wave of sightings across Britain this summer, prompting fears that aliens may be plotting an invasion of our country; that they might be planning to abduct our citizens and subject them to anal probing; or worse, that the BBC might be inspired to show another repeat of "Mars Attacks".

So stay tuned - the crack team of journalists at The Sun will be keeping us abreast of any further developments, at least when they're not too busy photographing ladies' wobbly bits.