For more half a century paranoid fantasies about flying saucers, little green men and alien invasions were officially indulged by the existence of a department within the Ministry of Defence that investigated UFO sightings.

But after more than 11,000 sightings spawning countless conspiracy theories, the department has been scrapped. The UFO hotline is no more.

In these tough economic times the MoD concluded that investigating UFO sightings can no longer be justified. It was diverting resources an MoD statement said.

Are we alone in the universe? The MoD doesn't care any more. When you ring the old hotline number, you get a terse recorded message, which you can listen to here:

"Please note it is no longer MoD policy to record, respond to, or investigate UFO sightings," it says.

An MoD statement on the matter is a little more expansive. It says: "The MoD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over 50 years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom."

Nick Pope who ran the UFO project in early 1990s said the decision to scrap it was "outrageous". Speaking to the Sun, which broke the story, he said: "We're leaving ourselves wide open to terrorist attack."

The last major UFO scare in Britain earlier this year involved claims that aliens had destroyed windturbines in Lincolnshire, after sightings of "massive balls of light". But then a "local blogger for a small newspaper group" revealed that her family had hosted a fireworks party in the area.

At the time Pope said: "Even if there is a terrestrial explanation in this case, that won't be the end of our fascination with UFOs."

The same could be said for the scrapping of the UFO project. Just don't call the MoD.