Stephen Green, of the Cavendish area of Matlock, contacted the Mercury after spotting a light in the sky which looked like a helicopter on fire.

He said: "Whatever it was it was orange coloured with 'flickering' around the edges.

"It was at a height which I would describe as a normal helicopter height and travelled from the general direction of Chatsworth and went towards south Chesterfield before disappearing.

"There was no noise at all from whatever it was and it had no fixed or flashing navigation nights. As it was dark I could not make out the shape but it was orange and the edges maintained their flickering feature throughout the sighting which probably lasted for two to three minutes in total."

The sighting was on Friday, September 25, at around 9pm.

Mr Green said his two daughters and their friend also saw it.

He added: "My youngest daughter thinks it was a lantern but the others disagree – however they cannot come up with an answer.

"I have never seen anything like this before and find it frustrating that I cannot come up with a rational explanation for what we saw.

"The height and speed characteristics were those of a helicopter but there was no noise whatsoever and no aircraft navigation lights.

"The orange glow and the flickering periphery to the form just add to my questions about this sighting."

Have you seen something strange in the sky or have an explanation about what it could have been? Call us on 01629 762130.

There have been no reports of helicopter crashes in the area.