Mystery monolith appears on an Isle of Wight beach

Artwork, aliens, or a portal to another world? Tall, shiny metal objects have been appearing all over the world and now there's one in Britain too.

Described as a monolith, the latest object was found on the Isle of Wight but similar structures have appeared at sites across the globe.

Some people have likened the objects to those seen in an old film from the 1960s called 2001: A Space Odyssey, where monoliths from an unseen alien species appear on Earth.

But while some of those monoliths remain so far unexplained, Tom Dunford, a designer who lives on the Isle of Wight says he made this one: "I did it purely for fun."

Good for you, Tom - we love fun! Let's find out more.

Where else have they been appearing?

The monolith was discovered on the Isle of Wight beach, just days after similar structures were spotted in the United States and Romania

The first monolith was found in the US, when a helicopter crew counting sheep flew over a remote part of desert in Utah and spotted the unusual object below.

It disappeared just days later with reports that four men had been seen carrying it away.

Around the same time as the Utah object vanished, a shiny metal monolith appeared on the other side of the world on a hillside in Romania. It also disappeared a few days later. Spooky!

Shortly afterwards, a new monolith was found at the top of a mountain trail in the US state of California before vanishing too!

A metal monolith standing on the hills of Batca Doamnei, Romania,

As for the Isle of Wight object, Mr Dunford said he told a few trusted friends and relatives about his plan before he drove down to Compton Beach on Sunday night to install it.

Mr Dunford said he put the structure up at about 4am on Sunday morning

"When I saw the first one pop up [in Utah] I thought it was brilliant, the second one popped up and I had a text from a friend which said 'you're the man that can do this on the island'.

"The actual idea sparked when I was walking back to the office and we had an old sheet of mirrored perspex... I'm one of these guys, once I get a creative streak I have to just go for it," he added.

Slightly less mysterious monoliths have started appearing too - this one went up outside a sweet shop in Pittsburgh, USA

Meanwhile a group called 'The Most Famous Artist' has taken credit for the objects in Utah and California.

The group posted an image of the Utah monolith on Instagram, with a 45,000 US dollar (£34,000) price tag.

Will it be allowed to stay on the beach?

The National Trust said visitor numbers to the beach would be monitored to "to ensure the beach remains safe"

The National Trust, which owns the site on the Isle of Wight, said it had no immediate plans to remove the monolith, which it said was put there without permission.

A spokesman said: "We were unaware of the monolith's presence until this morning, but we've now visited Compton Beach and it seems secure on a wooden plinth and is made from mirrored sections of plastic or perspex material.

"We need to monitor over the next few days to ensure the beach remains safe and does not become overcrowded."