The British physicist stated in a 2010 documentary that it would be a disaster for Earth if extraterrestrials landed on the planet, and suggested experts should stop trying to find and communicate with beings from outer space.

However, keen UFO searcher Ryder has now taken aim at Hawking and branded his comments "ridiculous".

The Happy Mondays frontman tells Q magazine, "There are aliens out there and we're not f**ked. Hawking, he's a good guy and he comes out with some alright things but if you go back to his first book he wasn't even having that we had f**king black holes. I'm surprised that someone with a brain as smart as his would come out with such dross like that. It's ridiculous."

Ryder presented the 2013 TV series Shaun Ryder on UFOs and claims to have experienced at least two alien sightings himself.