Wiltshire has been named as the country’s number one hotspot for the appearance of mysterious crop circles.

There have been 380 crop circles observed in the county since 2005, averaging around 20 per year, according to data collected by BonusFinder from the UK Crop Circles website.

This is over seven times more than in second-placed Hampshire, where just 51 formations have been seen over the last 18 years.

Crop circle enthusiasts have reportedly attributed the strange formations to ley lines, with some suggesting they are “ancient pathways aiding navigation” while others believe they are “extraterrestrial messages cautioning humanity.”

But the explanation for why so many crop circles appear in Wiltshire is far less sinister, with the patterns most commonly emerging in fields of wheat and barley.

This makes Wiltshire’s extensive countryside and agricultural land the ideal place for the phenomenon to crop up.

The most recent sighting of a crop circle in Wiltshire came at Potterne Hill on June 7, when witnesses described seeing an intricate 18-fold mandala with a large standing centre.

Just three days earlier a formation described as an unusual pictogram-style pattern was observed in Winterbourne Bassett.