Veteran paratrooper reveals British special forces recovered a downed 'non-human' craft in northern England in late 1980s - supporting recent US whistleblowers' claims of a secret UFO crash retrieval program

• British paratrooper veteran Franc Milburn claims a former member of the British special forces came clean to him about the top secret operation in the late 1980s
• 'He just said it was obvious it was non-human, and it was obvious that there were occupants who had fled the scene on foot,' he told DailyMail.com 
• Milburn said he decided to come forward with the story to support recent US whistleblowers' claims of a secret UFO crash retrieval program

By JOSH BOSWELL and CHRIS SHARP FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

British special forces recovered a downed 'non-human' craft in northern England in the late 1980s, a former UK paratrooper and military intelligence officer claims.

Franc Milburn, a veteran of the British Army's elite Parachute Regiment, tells DailyMail.com he has spoken with a member of the MI6-run unit that conducted the alleged operation.

Milburn said he also spoke to UK Royal Air Force crew who chased and fired on a pair of 'disc-shaped' UFOs that traveled at hypersonic speeds outstripping their fighter jets.

Milburn refused to reveal the identity of his former elite comrade, citing security and his desire to remain anonymous. DailyMail.com will refer to him using the alias 'John.'

But in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Milburn divulged eye-popping details of the story told to him by his ex-Special Forces friend after both had left the Army – saying that he wanted to support recent US whistleblowers' claims of a secret UFO crash retrieval program.

British veteran paratrooper Franc Milburn (pictured left in Iraq in 1997) claims a former member of the British special forces came clean to him about a top secret operation involving a downed 'non-human' craft in the late 1980s