Residents woke up baffled after seeing a strange and eerie "ring of light" surrounding the moon.

Margate resident Jessica Mayoh posted a picture of the glowing circle in an attempt to find out what it could have been.

The 19-year-old said: "I looked outside my house only to see a ring but wasn’t sure what it was.

"I stepped out further into Margate high street to take photos of the sky as I was intrigued as to what it was.

"I have never seen something like that before.

"I decided to post it on a Thanet Facebook page and a lot of the comments told me it was a ring of ice around the moon so the light of the moon was reflecting off the ring of ice."

Guy Martin, a former Kent resident, said the phenomenon witnessed last night is known as a 'moon halo' and is actually more common than people think.

"The 'ring of light' around the moon spotted last night is known as a 'moon halo' - and they are actually pretty common," he said.

"The rings around the moon are caused when moonlight passes through thin clouds of ice crystals high up in the earth's atmosphere.

"As moonlight passes through the ice crystals, it is bent in a way similar to light passing through a lens.

"The shape of the ice crystals causes the moonlight to be focused into a ring."

Mr Martin, who lived in Kent until 2011 says he is really interested in space, hence his knowledge on this lunar spectacle.

He said: "I now live in sunny Skegness, Lincolnshire and I saw the 'ring of light' from here as well!"

Moon halos can appear during any season and tend to appear several times a year, although they are most common in winter due to the colder weather.