CONCERNS have been raised that private planes are spraying chemicals into the atmosphere to combat global warming.
Ian Thompson from Reigate believes that some of what are commonly thought to be contrails – vapour trails left in the sky by aircraft – are instead "chemtrails".
Mr Thompson, 41, says the longevity and the thickness of the trails is evidence of their chemical composition.
He said: "I have never been on a plane and seen anything coming out of the back. These trails are not coming from the engines."
Mr Thompson also has concerns about the effects of the trails. He added: "It's the fact that the sky is being polluted from above without us being told it's happening. If everyone had agreed that we need to do this then fine, but it's being kept in the dark and we're not being given information."
Mr Thompson is by no means alone in his beliefs. A national petition signed by more than 2,000 people was handed into Downing Street earlier this month by the organisation Chemtrails Project UK, demanding a ban on geo-engineering. There are various claims about what the trails could consist of, one is an aluminium-type substance to reflect back the sun's light.
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "There is no credible evidence of chemtrails or any matter or aerosol being ejected from aircraft in the UK, other than the normal exhaust products from aircraft."
A Department of Transport document titled Contrails/Chemtrails Frequently Asked Questions also states: "We are aware that other countries have on occasions used weather modification techniques, such as cloud seeding, which causes precipitation by introducing substances into cumulus clouds that cause condensation. However, these techniques are aimed at reducing the locally damaging impacts of hail, or promoting rainfall, and have no impact on climate and should not be considered to be geo-engineering."
On the topic of why certain contrails last so long, it says: "Aircraft often follow similar routes separated by altitude, time or lateral distance and that is why you see grid-like patterns in the sky. There is now widely accepted scientific evidence that contrails can grow and persist in the sky to form larger clouds that become indistinguishable from natural cirrus clouds."
