Lake District invaded by 'alien' jelly last seen in Scotland

Its mysterious appearance in America inspired the alien horror movie The Blob. And now the strange gooey substance has invaded the Lake District. Walkers have been left baffled by the quivering, translucent mass, nicknamed Star Jelly because it reputedly fell to Earth from meteors. Four police officers in Philadelphia first came across a huge blob in 1950 and their discovery led to the 1958 sci-fi film.

Investigations since have failed to reveal what causes the slime, although it has been likened to the remains of frogs, toads or worms. The latest bizarre sightings were on hills and pastures in Patterdale, Cumbria, where holiday cottage owner Rob Shephard said: "I came across about 10 blobs floating on top of some puddles. They were the size of my foot. I didn't touch the jelly, I just took some snaps."



Village store owner Tom Driscoll, 53, has also been left perplexed, saying: "I was walking with my partner when we came across six or eight piles of the stuff. My initial thought was that it could be frog spawn, but when I had a closer look I realised this was not the case. I touched it and it had the consistency of frog spawn but some of the pieces were as big as a person's foot and I didn't think it was anything that a human or animal could make."

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh algae expert Dr Hans Sluiman investigated a 2009 sighting in Scotland, which was linked to stags' rutting season. He said: "I did discover the jelly is made up almost entirely of water but was not able to find out exactly what it was. It may be toxic frogs that have been eaten by other animals and then spat out. But nobody knows for sure."