IT LOOKS like a drawing of something straight out of a Lego Star Wars kit – but this crude sketch depicts an unidentified flying object which was apparently spotted flying over the Westcountry.

The image gives a front and side view of a mysterious aircraft seen hovering over Tintagel, North Cornwall, at about 11.45pm on June 22, 1997.

The drawing is among 6,000 pages of previously top secret files released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD), spanning from 1994 to 2000.

The documents, released as part of a three-year project involving the National Archives, hold hundreds of other-worldly experiences with UFOs and "aliens" across Britain.

Sketch of the mysterious aircraft seen hovering over Tintagel, North Cornwall

Experts say the shape of UFOs has changed over the years, depending on what science fiction images were prevalent in popular culture at the time.

The unknown Cornish artist described seeing illuminated lights all over the surface of the outlandish structure, and a protruding cockpit, with an eerily glowing dome.

The main body of the UFO has two arms attached to parallel structures on either side, resembling a basic reproduction of a TIE Fighter, which first appeared in the Star Wars films in 1977, and was the subject of a computer game in 1994.

Dr David Clarke, author of The UFO Files and senior lecturer in journalism from Sheffield Hallam University, said: "In the 1950s the next big leap in technology was thought to be a round craft that took off vertically and it's intriguing to note that this is the same period when people began to report seeing 'flying saucers' in the sky.

"In the period the latest file release covers, triangular-shaped US stealth bombers and Aurora spy planes featured heavily on TV, such as The X Files between 1993-2002, and films, such as Independence Day released in 1996 and the shape of reported UFOs corresponds.

"It's impossible to prove a direct link between what people are reading and watching and what they report as UFOs, but one interpretation could be that the latest advances in technology may be influencing what people see in the sky."

The files are available to download for free for a month from the website www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ufos