Shropshire Star

Did you see 'huge explosion' in sky above The Wrekin on Monday morning?

A Shrewsbury resident was left puzzled after seeing what he called a huge explosion in the skies above The Wrekin on Monday morning.

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The Milky Way over The Wrekin. Photo: Paul Murray.

Martin Jones, aged 54, was driving into work at about 6.05am and says he was taken by surprise when he saw what looked like a big explosion with all the colours of the rainbow.

"I have seen plenty of shooting stars in my time," said Martin. "But nothing quite like this. I honestly thought it was a plane exploding, with a really bright light over The Wrekin.

"It was really high up in the atmosphere and there was no sound at all. I have never seen anything quite like it and wondered if anyone else had seen what happened."

Mr Jones said the incident only took a split second and was "like the arc from a welder's torch, showing all the colours of the rainbow."

He reckons someone must have captured it on a dash cam or door bell video.

"They should take a look at their videos," he said. "I wondered if it was a Russian hot air balloon being shot down and the start of World War Three!"

A spokesman for the Met Office said that without imagery it was hard to say what it was but it did not sound like anything meteorological.

The UK Space Agency has also been contacted for comment.