'Hovering ship' spotted off South Shields coast

Steven Lomas said the ship "jumped out at him" and he pulled his car over to snap it

A second image of a ship which appears to be "hovering" above the sea has been snapped off the coast of England.

Last week an image of a rare optical illusion of a vessel "in the air" was captured near Falmouth, Cornwall.

Now a similar snap has been taken of what appears to be a "floating" oil tanker or cargo ship off the coast of South Shields.

Steven Lomas said the ship "jumped out at him" and he pulled his car over to capture the image on his phone.

Mr Lomas, a probation officer, was driving past the cliffs at Marsden on his way to work at 07.30 GMT on Tuesday when he said his eyes were drawn out to sea.

He said: "It was very peculiar as I'd seen the image taken in Cornwall a few days ago. It just jumped out at me, my eyes were drawn to it so I pulled over my car to get a better look.

"I'm also a landscape photographer but didn't have my camera so had to use my phone to get pictures.

"It was a clear day, but hazy so I think it was a mirage."

'Trick of the light'

BBC senior weather presenter Jen Bartram said the "floating ship" was a "superior mirage".

She said it was "an image that appears to be floating above the horizon, and is most commonly seen in polar regions".

"This trick of the light is caused by a temperature inversion - a layer of cold air above the sea, with warmer air above.

"As light travels to our eye from the ship, it bends towards the colder, denser air, and it's this refraction which makes our eye think the ship is actually much higher than it really is.

"This same phenomenon can also make objects that are beyond the horizon visible to the human eye. It's quite incredible to see."