A pulsing swirl that was visible around the county was likely caused by SpaceX launch, the Met Office has said.

The strange phenomenon was visible on March, Monday 24, with people reporting seeing it above St Bees, Shap and Barrow in Cumbria.

It was also reported in other places across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales along with other areas of the world, including France, Denmark and Germany.

The Met Office took to X (Twitter) after receiving numerous reports from the public.

They said: “This is likely to be caused by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launched earlier today.

“The rocket’s frozen exhaust plume appears to be spinning in the atmosphere and reflecting the sunlight, causing it to appear as a spiral in the sky.”

SpaceX has not yet confirmed the pulsing swirl in the sky was linked with them.