An amateur radio ham managed to contact the International Space Station, flying at 18,500mph some 200 miles up in the sky, according to a report.

Former lorry driver Adrian Lane, 52, worked out he would have a brief window of opportunity to talk to the astronauts on board after discovering the ISS was due to pass over his home in Coleford, Gloucestershire, The Daily Telegraph reported.

He sent out a message with his call sign from his radio set in his garden shed and was amazed when he received an answer.

“The adrenaline was pumping a little bit. I said to them how wonderful Earth must look from up there. They said, ‘Ooh Adrian, it’s amazing, you can’t imagine what it looks like from up here,’” the father of two said.

“He said it was very dark but when you look down at Earth it is full of colour. I basically asked who he was and how things were in space that day. It was such a rush.

“I was buzzing. It’s not every day you get to talk to some guy out in space.”

Mr Lane said he managed to have a conversation for about 50 seconds before contact was lost.

He said his wife, Deilwen, was not a fan of his hobby.