This mysterious footage captures the series of loud explosions and flashes of bright light that were reported across South East England last night.

The strange noises were heard in Essex and parts of East London and many concerned locals took to social media to look for answers.

One man from Ilford filmed the sky at around 11pm and spotted the eerie flashes of light before capturing the loud bangs, which he said shook his house.

‘I have a theory that it was a meteorite,’ said the video maker. ‘If it had been a land-based explosion there would be damage somewhere but so far no damage.’

‘It was too loud to be a firework that’s for sure and fireworks don’t shake houses. I don’t think it’s a supersonic aircraft as a sonic boom does not give off light.

‘I think it was a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere. This would give off light and cause a sonic boom.’

The Royal Observatory at the Royal Museum of Greenwich discredited this notion, however.

A spokesman told MailOnline: ‘This doesn’t have the character of a meteor, since such a blast would only occur after a sustained bright light during atmospheric entry – not a quick flash as shown in the video.

‘It’s also somewhat unlikely that three blasts would be heard. It looks and sounds a little bit more like a firework.

‘An object would only be classed as a meteorite if it actually reached the ground – something up in the air like this would be a meteor.

‘Our understanding of large meteors and fireballs is that, although they can produce sonic booms and/or loud bangs (in the latter case when they fragment violently), they are more likely to produce a sustained glow for several seconds (which may vary in brightness) as they move across the sky, rather than a single, momentary flash.’

A number of residents took to social media to comment on the explosions and to suggest other possible causes.

The majority claimed it could be a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier, while others even suggested a UFO may have visited the area.

Sam Smart said he heard the explosions from his house in Wanstead, around four miles from where the video maker captured his footage in Ilford.

The 24-year-old advertising graduate said: ‘It was too loud to be a firework. It sounded like the sonic boom of a jet to me.’

Another local resident, who lives in nearby Woodford and who wished to remain anonymous, said the loud bangs sounded like ‘gunshots’.

Meanwhile on Twitter, one person wrote: ‘Hoping the explosion sounds heard in East London/Essex aren’t anything serious.’

Another said: ‘Just heard three loud booms, like an explosion here in East London. Anyone know anything?’

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said that it was ‘not aware’ of the noises but would be looking into it to see if it was caused by a jet.

The MoD later confirmed: ‘We know nothing about it. A sonic boom would suggest there was a foreign plane in our airspace, which was not the case.’

It also added that a jet had not been scrambled in the UK either.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman also confirmed that the force had received calls reporting the loud noises but that they would not be looking into it.

Nick Pope, who used to research UFOs for the MoD, told MailOnline: ‘I’m sceptical about the fighter jet theory, as night flying by military jets over built-up areas is unusual, and my understanding is that supersonic flying over the mainland UK is not allowed, in view of the disturbance caused.

‘I think the meteor theory is quite likely. Meteors and fireballs entering the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed would produce a flash of light and can also generate sound, in the same way as an aircraft can generate a sonic boom.

‘If it was a large one, it could split into pieces, which would explain why three flashes were seen. Meteors and fireballs turned out to be the explanation for several spectacular UFO sightings that I investigated while working on the MoD’s UFO project.’