The Batley family, of Skipton Road, Barnoldswick, were responsible for the three "balls of fire" believed to be UFOs by onlookers at Rolls-Royce Leisure Centre.

As part of a celebration the family, who live opposite the centre, lit fire lanterns and sent them into the sky.

"We were just having a small dinner party to celebrate my son and his girlfriend coming home from travelling," said Colin Batley (39). "We thought it'd be a nice idea to set these lanterns off that we bought from the Internet – they did this sort of thing when they were away in Thailand."

Fire lanterns are used at celebrations in South-East Asia, similar to the way Chinese lanterns are used for decorations at Chinese festivals.
Also known as Khoom Fay in Thailand, the lanterns are believed to bring good luck to the people who set them off.

At over a metre and a half tall, the lanterns are filled with hot air as the base – a wire ring with a flammable centre – is set on fire. Two or three people hold the lantern by the base a few metres off the ground, and gradually raise it until it floats vertically upwards.

Gavin Spencer (24) was at the party with his wife, Sarah (23), and son, Ethan (5), and helped to set off the lanterns. "It was awesome!" said Gavin. "We've done it once before but it didn't work too well because it was windy, but this time all three lanterns heated up, and one by one they set off and floated for about 10 minutes. It's great to watch."

Once in the sky, the biodegradable lanterns can float for up to 12 minutes and reach a mile high before burning out into the atmosphere.
With a breeze, the lanterns can pause in mid-air but in good conditions they shoot vertically upwards, which may explain why they were mistaken for UFOs hovering over Rolls-Royce Leisure Centre before disappearing into space.