A bizarre video has shown swarms of insects appearing to “waft like smoke” from a tree line.

Wendy Peacock captured the footage in Church Lane, New Romney, while out walking her dogs.

The video has left a nature enthusiast stumped, however, it is believed the winged creatures could be St Mark’s Flies.

Ms Peacock told KentOnline: “As I turned back towards where I had parked, I saw all this black ‘smoke’ coming down through the trees.

“The closer I got, the more bizarre it seemed.

“At one point, I even thought maybe something was on fire and debris was falling as the black swathes were so thick.

“As I got nearer, I realised it was insects.”

The video was captured at about 2.30pm on Tuesday.

Ms Peacock added: “I watched for at least 20 mins and it was still going when I made a dash for the car.

“They were all over my dogs, my car and myself and were like ants, only much bigger with wings.

“My video doesn’t do it justice, really, as the waves coming down began much, much thicker.”

After watching the footage, nature enthusiast Nik Mitchell, who has 64,000 followers on his Get Wild Facebook page, said he has “never seen anything like it”.

“That’s an impressive video,” he said.

“That’s what I love about being into nature - you’re always seeing new stuff.

“It could be St Mark’s Flies, or could be some kind of midges, which covers a range of small insects.”

St Mark’s Flies get their name as they usually emerge around St Mark’s Day on April 25.

It has also been theorised the creatures could be flying ants, however, these do not usually swarm until July.