A mystery monolith, which has appeared on the Isle of Wight's Compton beach, is making headlines around the world.

Excitement has been growing since its discovery, propelling the Isle of Wight into the headlines around the world.

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Landowner the National Trust, which has visited the structure today (Monday), said it will monitor the beach for overcrowding, but will leave the monolith intact. 

It said: "We were unaware of the monolith’s presence until this morning, but we’ve now visited Compton Beach and the structure seems secure on a wooden plinth.

"It is made from mirrored sections of plastic or perspex material.

“We have no immediate plans to remove it but of course we’ll need to monitor it over the next few days to ensure the beach remains safe and does not become overcrowded.

“The National Trust looks after large amounts of land which is protected for its importance for wildlife, nature and archaeology. To prevent the risk of damaging important sites, we insist that anybody who wishes to put up something on our land must always contact us first.”

The monolith was first discovered, on Sunday morning, by a dog walker.

Are there others?

Yes - and this is why there is so much excitement.

In recent weeks, three other monoliths have been making the news.

The first appeared in a desert in Utah, America earlier this month.

It was spotted by the crew of a helicopter but very quickly disappeared again.

One was spotted in Romania, on Batca Doamnei Hill, Piatra Neamt.

A third appeared in Pine Mountain, Atascadero, California.

It was quickly torn down and was replaced with a cross.

What about the Island's?

The Isle of Wight's monolith was first noticed on Sunday morning.

It is now making headlines around the world.

Among the publications covering its appearance are social media site Ladbible, India's The Indian Express and India Today, the Netherlands' Dutch News and Irish news site The Journal. 

A host of British publications are also running the story.

Could it all be a clever marketing stunt by Visit Isle of Wight?

The organisation say no, but it is urging people to visit safely.

MD Will Myles said: "We track all of our marketing efforts, but didn't realise that our "discover the Isle of Wight" message had got to a galaxy far far away.

I hope when they visited that they travelled the Wight way."

The organisation has released a serious message, for those visiting the Tier 1 Isle of Wight (and that applies to alien lifeforms, it said)

• Wear a face covering when required

• Maintain social distancing

• Wash hands regularly

• Travel only from Tiers 1 and 2 

• Adhere to all Government and local advice and restrictions

What do we know about the Isle of Wight monolith?

Islanders have been visiting it over last 24 hours, taking pictures of the mirrored object.

This morning, after a night on the beach, it was looking a little worse for wear, as the Isle of Wight County Press's Liam Chorley discovered.

  • Video/Pictures Isle of Wight monolith

No-one has claimed the Isle of Wight installation as their own, so could it be linked to the others?

The New York Times asked that question on Instagram, to a collaboration of artists understood to be responsible for a number of other monoliths.

The answer appeared to dismiss a direct link.

Isle of Wight County Press: