Cynics could be forgiven for attributing the high incidence of UFO sightings in Scotland to the country's reputed fondness for a drop of the hard stuff.

But a Japanese TV company is hoping to prove there is more to the mysteries of the Scottish skies.

The unnamed firm is to train a camera on the East Lothian sky for six months this coming summer.

The camera will run 24 hours a day, every day, in the hope of picking up extra-terrestrial spacecraft.

The area is better known for golf courses such as the one at Gullane, which attract players from around the world.

Prehistoric remains

Berwick Law and Traprain Law, two extinct volcanoes which rise dramatically from the flat land on the south bank of the Firth of Forth, have gained a reputation among UFO enthusiasts.

Berwick Law rises above the sleepy seaside town of North Berwick.

The hill is known for its prehistoric remains, and was once used as an Iron Age fort.

A film crew hired by the Japanese plans to set up a camera on the roof of the Templar Lodge Hotel, Gullane, in the spring.

'Plenty of sightings'

The cameras will be trained on both hills and their footage will be broadcast on the internet.

Stephen Prior, head of marketing at the Templar Lodge, said: "There is a long Celtic tradition of fairies on the hills - traditionally, you wouldn't take your baby up there for fear of it being turned into a changeling.

"Some Japanese golfers on holiday here saw something strange up there, and word of this seems to have got back to Japan.

"There have been plenty of sightings over the hills, although quite what they are, I do not know."

Scotland's biggest UFO site is Bonnybridge, near Falkirk, where dozens of sightings have been recorded, and which attracts enthusiasts from around the globe