THE Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 never took place and were staged by the US intelligence community, a controversial filmmaker has claimed.

Bart Sibrel claims he has proof the CIA orchestrated the famous Apollo 11 moon landing – and believes no one has ever stepped on the lunar surface because it is too dangerous. Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Online, Sibrel reckons mankind would have set up bases by now if it was possible to travel to the moon.

And he believes the historic event took place in a film set and the crew were actors given instructions by the CIA through ear pieces. Rockets designed in the 1960s, according to Sibrel, were unable to exit the Earth's orbit and would never be able to resist a deadly radiation belt en route to the Moon.

Yet the manned Apollo 11 lunar landing on July 20, 1969, is regarded as one of humanity's greatest achievements. And today marks the historic event's 48th anniversary. Millions worldwide remember where they were the moment Neil Armstrong declared: "It's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

But Sibrel claims it is all a sham. The filmmaker has been on a mission since the age of 24 to prove the landings were a major cover-up.

Sibrel said he has obtained raw, unedited footage from NASA – that was never released to the public – that features radio conversation between crew and a third confidential party that prompts the astronauts with what to say and when to speak. Sibrel, who directed the film A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon, says: "I consider it not a theory, I consider it a fact.

"For the first three years making the movie, I was under the idea it might not be true. "Then I obtained an outtakes reel." In the footage, a voice says "talk" before Armstrong relays back to Mission Control in Houston – Nasa's headquarters. Sibrel believes this is a third-party voice – he assumes from a CIA agent – prompting Armstrong to speak and what to say.

The 51-year-old said the idea of man setting foot on The Moon is "absurd" and said they were used to force the public's gaze away from the Vietnam War. "If it was so easy in 1969, there would be bases on the moon by now", he added. "(Christopher) Columbus sailed to the new world and it is absurd to say they could do something that cannot be completed today. "They (the public) cannot see it clearly because it's a religious event to them.

"I once spoke to a college professor and asked him if it was revealed Neil Armstrong didn't step foot on the moon, would they believe it? He said he would still think it was real."

Sibrel cites the studies of aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun as another reason why humanity has yet to make it to the Moon successfully.He said the Van Allen Belt – 272 miles from Earth – is impenetrable due to its high levels of radiation and a space rocket capable of reaching the Moon would need to be the size of the Empire State Building and weigh the same as the Queen Mary cruise liner.

Sibrel also claims the Moon is hit by mega micro meteorite storms every 48 hours capable of killing astronauts instantly and damaging space craft. While Sibrel is adamant he has proof the landings are a hoax, he said his family has endured death threats and he took no enjoyment from researching the topic.

He added: "George Orwell said 'who controls the past controls the future'. "Woodrow Wilson was the US president in the 1920s and he said there was a shadow government above him pulling the strings. "I am going to put it all behind me. I've not enjoyed this process in the slightest. "I got kicked out of church, I got unfriended by many people because of what I believe, that the Moon landings are fake. "It's been an interesting experience but so be it.