The chances of finding intelligent alien beings on other Earth-like planets are tiny new research has concluded.

The likelihood were are not alone and intelligent life has evolved is just 0.01 per cent on each suitable planet according to calculations by one scientist.

Professor Andrew Watson argues that as intelligent life has only arisen late in the development of our planet, it suggests its evolution is rare.

While the earth is over four billion years old, intelligent life has only evolved recently and it may only be habitable for another billion as the sun gets hotter.

Other suitable planets would also only have a limited window of time during which such life could develop and that may not be long enough.

In a paper published in the journal Astrobiology, he says evolution must pass four critical and difficult stages for intelligent life to evolve.

Each one has a probability of less than ten per cent, meaning the chances of life occurring are around 0.01 per cent in four billion years.

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