A COUPLE of Worcestershire residents claim to have solved the mystery of an odd blue light spotted in the county's skies.

Paul Pritchard, of Mount Pleasant Barns, Pershore, was left scratching his head after spotting the blue light running from the horizon up

into the sky while he was driving home from Worcester.

He spotted it at about 9.15pm on Tuesday when was about four miles out of the city on the A4538 past the roundabout for Crowle and Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

He first thought it looked like a tornado but noticed it was still and added it was possible it could have been someone shining a powerful beam.

There was speculation it could have been something to do with flying saucers, but founder member of the Worcester Astronomical Society Andy O'Hare, of Merriman's Hill Road, Barbourne, Worcester, said it was actually what is known as a sun pillar - a phenomenon caused by light hitting ice and dust in the upper atmosphere.

"There are lots of things which people might describe as UFOs which can be explained by astronomical phenomena," he added.

And John Farrell, of Dovecote Road, Droitwich, was up in a hot air balloon with friends at the time and said he also saw it.

"It's quite an interesting phenomenon but it was just the sunset, with a bit of cloud in one place and the rest of the sky being lighter than one part of it," he added.