THE 50TH anniversary celebrations of a Dundee hairdressing salon turned into a hair-raising experience for UFO spotters in Dundee last night.

Several people were left with the hair standing up on the back of their necks after seeing a series of eerie lights drifting silently towards Broughty Ferry.

The Courier received several calls from witnesses pulling their hair out.

Reader Ian Duncan said, “Around 8.15 this evening around nine fiery objects were sent into the evening sky from the area adjacent to Riverside airport.

“They rose quickly to a height of round 1000 feet then drifted towards the east passing above the city centre and onwards towards Broughty Ferry before disappearing out of view in the distance. What were they?”

But The Courier has found a hairdressing salon’s event was at the root of it.

Jaconelli celebrated its 50th anniversary with a party at the West Park Centre on Perth Road.

Family, friends and staff past and present gathered at the centre’s Henderson’s Restaurant for a buffet and live music to mark the business being passed down through three generations.

After the party, guests released eight Chinese lanterns into the sky, each containing wishes made by the people at the party.

The lanterns were spotted by the stargazers.

Founded in 1957 by Betty Jaconelli, the salon was originally in Hawkhill, but moved to Perth Road eight years later.

In 1980, Betty’s daughter Doreen took the reins and Doreen’s son Craig now runs the business.

Doreen explained, “Some of our customers started coming to my mum in the late 50s—and they’re still coming along for their haircuts.

“We just wanted to celebrate the fact that this little hairdresser opened all those years ago and it’s just gone from strength to strength.”

She went on, “We called the airport last night to make sure we were able to release the lanterns, and they put us in touch with air traffic control.

“People put their wish inside and then we lit them and let them go—we can’t believe people thought they might have been UFOs!”

The Jaconellis were also raising money for charity World Vision at the event, with raffle prizes from local businesses.