Aliens leave no claims bonus untouched

An insurance company which will pay pounds 1 million this week, to a man who took out a policy against being abducted by aliens, says it intends to make a profit by selling the evidence for the claim.

The insurer, Goodfellow Rebecca Ingrams Pearson Ltd, said it was negotiating with a US media group which is willing to pay more than pounds 1 million for physical evidence including photographic footage provided by Joseph Carpenter, who says he was abducted by aliens near Swindon in October.

Mr Carpenter insisted yesterday that his claim was not a hoax, and his insurers said "We do not just pay out pounds 1 million like that".