A "strange" UFO spotted in the skies over the south of England has turned out to be a rocket.

Many Kent residents took to social media to share sightings of the unusual flying object this evening - describing it as a "giant silent light".

A video of the strange sight taken in Margate at about 10.15pm (Video: Jade Carley)

One woman described spotting it over Margate at about 10.20pm, before rushing to tell her disbelieving boyfriend.

"I even drew a picture trying to explain it," she said. "It was HUGE. It can't have been a helicopter as it made no sound. The only way to describe it, is it was like a gigantic torch."

Another woman said: "Saw this, very weird, slow moving and silent!"

Some theorised it could be a meteor, while others joked it could be aliens on the look-out for coveted petrol.

But it is believed to have been a rocket re-entering the atmosphere, after launching a satellite into space.

The Atlas V rocket was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of NASA's Landsat programme - an "important earth science mission" that aims to shine a light on Earth's natural resources through high-quality imaging.

The rocket successfully delivered Landsat 9 observatory into orbit around Earth.

The light spotted over Kent is believed to have been caused by the rocket's "de-orbit burn" - a firing of its engines that enabled the craft to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere.

The rare sight was reportedly spotted elsewhere across the country, in areas including East Sussex, Essex, Shropshire, County Durham, and in other parts of the world.

For more quirky and unusual stories, click here