A mysterious orange light shimmering in the night sky above North Cheam has posed a new riddle for UFO researchers.

Michele Weekes, 44, spotted an orb hovering silently over Windsor Road while standing in her garden late on Easter Day.

The teaching assistant suspected the fast-moving object was a burning aircraft until witnessing its agility and otherworldly glow.

She is now appealing to local stargazers to confirm they saw the UFO light or to offer an explanation for the phenomenon.

Mrs Weekes, who insists she was not drunk, said: “As it got nearer the light looked like two stars, with a bigger star at the top and a smaller one beneath.

"It gained height and was soon above me and my husband. I had to crane my head back to look directly up at the light.

“It then changed direction slightly and headed in a more southerly direction. By this time it was farther away, and then the light flickered twice before just disappearing.

“I know this could not have been a plane as the lights on the wings were red and white and, as it did not have a tail, it could not have been a shooting star."

Robert Rosamond, chairman of the British UFO Research Organisation, said photographic evidence needed to be examined to establish whether there was a misidentification.

At this stage, he said, the lights could be anything from a balloon to a “tangerine being thrown in the air”.

Over the past 18 months the Ministry of Defence has recorded a surge in sightings of alien spacecraft, including one that abducted a dog and tent.

In September 2007 dozens of West Ewell residents reported seeing a series of spherical lights. They were later revealed to be burning Chinese lanterns released at a wedding reception.

Report a sighting to the Ministry of Defence UFO hotline on 01494 496254.

• Have you spotted any UFOs? Let us know in the comments section below.