Did you see anything strange in the sky over Larne on Sunday night?

One local woman was so amazed by what she saw from her house from above the Craigyhill area that she is sure others may well have witnessed the same mysterious phenomenon.

"I was going to put the car in the garage at about 7pm when I saw a wee red light with a trail behind it in the sky. I thought at the start it was an aeroplane or perhaps a search light, but it looked very strange," she said.

"I called on my husband to come out and we saw it zigzag across the sky. It was up there for about five minutes and then it sped up and disappeared over Inver. It looked like it turned into a red fireball.

"I'm a bit sceptical about sightings of objects in the sky, but I have to say on Sunday night we just stood there and said 'Wow!'

The professional woman - who said she wished to remain anonymous - said: "I just kept saying, 'I do not believe what I'm seeing'. I've never seen anything like it."

She described the strange encounter as being even more mysterious as there wasn't a sound in the sky during this time.

"It was silent. There was no noise at all," she said.

And adding to the mystery was how she described the response of two aeroplanes in the sky at the time.

"There were a couple of planes and - I know it sounds daft to say it - but I noticed they seemed to be veering away from this light," she said.

Just this week it was reported that the Ministry of Defence investigated 13 mystery objects in the sky over Northern Ireland during the past 10 years, ranging from egg-shaped crafts to blinding lights.

However, when the Larne Times asked the MoD if they knew of anything that may have caused Sunday night's wonderment, a much more logical answer was returned.

The lights were apparently caused by "rotary wing training" - in other words, helicopter training - by 230 Squadron RAF.

An MoD spokesman said "perhaps several" helicopters had been involved in the exercise, with men and equipment being tested for Afghanistan.