News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Bizarre footage emerged of a mysterious snake-like UFO glowing over a desert in the US.

Cody Kennedy was driving with friends in Twentynine Palms in California when he spotted something slithering through the sky.

The 31-year-old, who had hoped to capture some reptiles for his animal-themed YouTube channel, said: "Me and a couple friends were driving around the desert looking for rattlesnakes.

"In the desert at night, rattlesnakes will come up on to the roads while they are looking for food and mates, and I like to drive around looking for them."

(Image: Credit: Pen News/Cody Kennedy)

But he and his friends were left baffled when they saw a moving bright long bar in the sky on their way back.

He thought someone was shining a light on the bottom of a flag, but the light was too high to have been coming from the ground.

His video footage shows the UFO resembling a worm squirming in the night sky, illuminating in white but with patches of black rippling along its body.

(Image: Credit: Pen News/Cody Kennedy) (Image: Credit: Pen News/Cody Kennedy)

Cody, from Palm Springs, said the scene lasted about 30 minutes before it hurtled to the ground and vanished.

He added: "We saw it come to the ground in the middle of the desert. We all ran out to it but didn't find anything."

Some people suggested to him that it could have been a balloon or a drone with an LED light bar.

He said: "I think maybe it was the tail of a kite that has some kind of LEDs but I have looked online for something like it and can't find anything.

(Image: Credit: Pen News/Cody Kennedy)

“And if it was a kite, where was the person holding it? Also there were powerlines there too, so kite flying at night would be dangerous.”

As for the possibility of something extra-terrestrial, Cody is keeping an open mind.

“I want to believe," he said. “I just need some evidence now.”