MYSTERY surrounds an epidemic of sinister black smoke rings that have been forming in the sky across the world.

The freaky phenomenon dubbed as “smoke vortexes” have been appearing in remote spots in Russia’s Siberia and the American Midwest — with the latest one being spotted in the UK.

The surreal sight is straight out of the 2016 film Arrival where visiting aliens use the circles to communicate, reports The Sun.

Kimberley Robinson, 22, was driving down the M62 near Birkenshaw with her boyfriend Danny Cooper, 26, when they noticed the creepy black mark in the sky.

Full-time mum Miss Robinson described the circle as “the weirdest thing I have ever seen”.

She said: “Me and my boyfriend were driving today and noticed a black flying ring in the sky.

“It looked a bit smoky but the shape was a solid ring.

“We hadn’t ever seen anything like this before do we have looked into it and no one knows what it is.”

West Yorkshire Fire Service say there had been no reports of fire at the time of the sighting on Sunday just after 1.30pm.

Strange black ring in sky Strange black ring in sky

Another bizarre ring was spotted in Missouri, in the US, the day before.

But police believe it must have been caused by some sort of firework.

Others believe the strange rings are evidence of alien ships visiting our planet.

In April another sighting spooked out shoppers in a Siberian Mall shopping centre, with some fearful it was some sort of doomsday warning.

One social media said: “It’s a kind of supernatural power flying across the city!”

But UFO investigator Nick Pope has another, more down-to-earth explanation.

He said: “Despite exotic theories about UFOs, aliens, or portals to other dimensions, I believe there’s a decidedly down-to-earth explanation here.

“A so-called smoke vortex can arise when you have a blast through a circular structure like a smokestack.

“So these weird effects can be caused by accident — or indeed by design.

“On this latter point, they can be created as a sort of pyrotechnic effect and it would be interesting to know if there were any outdoor festivals being held in the area concerned.”

This story first appeared on The Sun.