A study published Monday by Ripley's Believe It or Not! London found that Brits are more likely to believe in aliens than in God.

Over half of respondents indicated that they believe in extraterrestrials, while only a quarter of respondents professed a belief in God.

The survey polled 1,500 adults and 500 children aged 8-12. Ghosts were at the top of the list of supernatural creatures that adults believed in, with 55 per cent of respondents answering affirmatively. Aliens (51 per cent), UFOs (42 per cent), and angels (27 per cent) all ranked higher than belief in God (25 per cent).

Similar results were found in the child population, where aliens (64 per cent), ghosts (64 per cent), and UFOs (50 per cent) had more believers than God (33 per cent) and angels (27 per cent).

Ripley's general manager Natasha Crump discussed the survey's message.

''According to the results it's clearly not just children who have an open mind when it comes to other life forms and keeping an open mind," she said.

''We live in the age of science and turn to it for most of our answers, but the results show that many of us still hold belief in things that might exist outside of our world and beyond our understanding.

''It's reassuring to have the answers for many of life's questions but the average person will always be drawn to the odd, the unexpected and to the question 'What if?'"

The study also identified things that adults are afraid of. Spiders were feared by 47 per cent of respondents, while big dogs (24 per cent), heights (23 per cent), and flying (13 per cent) were less scary. Not surprisingly, 53 per cent of adults said they try to hide their fears from their children to prevent them from feeling scared as well.