A rare optical illusion has made it seem like a ship is floating in the air above the sea.

The picture was taken in Falmouth, Cornwall and is an example of a "superior mirage".

The photographer David Morris was stunned by what he captured, thinking the ship was floating.

But what was really going on? BBC meteorologist David Braine has explained that illusions like this can occur because of "special atmospheric conditions that bend light".

He went on to explain that is can happen when the air is very cold. "Since cold air is denser than warm air, it bends light towards the eyes of someone standing on the ground or on the coast, changing how a distant object appears," he said.