The Sun was handed dramatic footage of the mysterious craft hovering over Bristol. Shellie Williams, 20, and her mum Betty, 53, filmed it on their mobile phones. When they zoomed in, they also caught red and white vertical beams not visible to the naked eye. Care worker Shellie, who watched from outside her home in nearby Hartcliffe, said: "It was bizarre and I was quite frightened."

Betty said: "Through binoculars you could see clusters of lights.

"They seemed to form a circle and were attached to something. It freaked us out."

Neighbour Tony Jefferies said he had seen the lights on and off for two weeks.

In daylight yesterday, Shellie and Betty pinpointed the lights as being close to a radio mast on Dundry Hill.

Air traffic control at Bristol International Airport said it had no reports of "unusual activity".

Avon & Somerset police said their helicopter was not out and they had not had UFO reports.