Crop circle appears in field in Blandford, Dorset

These striking drone images captured from the skies show the geometric pattern on a field at Okeford Hill, near Blandford.

Incredible aerial shots clearly show the geometric pattern Picture: Droning On (Echo Camera Club)

The images were taken after a heavy mist yesterday evening by a member of the Dorset Echo Camera Club, 'Droning On,' who said: "Whatever your views of such formations, I have to say this was an impeccably chosen location, made all the more stunning by the weather.

"The passing thunder storm and rising mist made for some great shots."

The pictures were made all the more dramatic by the weather Picture: Droning On (Echo Camera Club)

Crop circles, or crop formations, are patterns produced by flattening crops.

Experts agree they are man-made although some people claim there are mysterious forces behind the patterns.

In May 2015 an impressive crop circle, in a Celtic design, appeared in a field at Thornicombe, near Blandford.

Farmers have reported finding strange circles in their fields for centuries. The earliest mention of a crop circle dates back to the 1500s.

Mentions of crop circles were rare until the 20th century, when circles began appearing in the 1960s and '70s in England and the United States.

The crop circle close up Picture: Droning On (Echo Camera Club)

But the phenomenon didn't gain attention until 1980, when a farmer in Wiltshire discovered three circles, about 60 feet (18 meters) across each, in his oat crops. 

UFO researchers and media descended on the farm, and the world first began to learn about crop circles.

By the 1990s, crop circles had become something of a tourist attraction.

In 1990 alone, more than 500 circles emerged in Europe. Within the next few years, there were thousands.

Visitors came from around the world to see them and some farmers even charged admission to their mysterious attractions.