Family who say they saw aliens in their backyard are now in lockdown in their own home

A family who claimed that they saw aliens in their backyard have now gone into 'lockdown' in their home.

It was a close encounter that left the family terrified. Flashing lights, mysterious figures, shooting stars...all the ingredients are there for a meeting with life from another world.

The family were left terrified after claiming that they saw the aliens in their garden, making calls to the police. Even the police ended up unnerved, the incident was so bizarre.

But in the end, it wasn't aliens but other humans who have made the family go into lockdown in their home.

The family claims that since the incident, they received a number of threats from people who are accusing them of engaging in an elaborate hoax. The family have been left so afraid that they are not leaving their home out of fear for their own safety.

They rang up 911 at the time of the incident, saying: "There’s like an 8-foot person beside it and another one is inside us [sic] and it has big eyes and it’s looking at us — and it’s still there."

They added: "In my backyard. I swear to God this is not a joke, this is actually — we’re terrified."

Police in attendance were also unnerved by the incident, with one officer saying: "I have butterflies, bro — saw a shooting star and now these people say there’s aliens in their backyard."

YouTube / KENS 5

The family have chosen not to share their name, but said that they were now nervous to leave their home due to the threats they have received.

Footage from the incident shows shadowy figures lurking in the backyard as well as a flashing light in the sky.

Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society has since claimed that the light was possibly a meteor.

He told NewsNation: "It was a meteor that was larger than normal, probably the size of a basketball up to a beachball, travelling at tremendous speed and when it strikes the atmosphere, it starts to vaporize and that friction causes a very bright flash.

"We're certain its a meteor because of the duration of the event, most everybody reported it lasted between two and five seconds.

"That is much too fast for it to be a re-entering satellite or a rocket, and the fact that it was seen over such a wide area is a darn good indication that it was a fireball."

That's all very well, but it still doesn't explain the 8ft tall figures.