A family from Groombridge had a lucky escape when a large wedge of ice fell from a passing aeroplane – and landed in the driveway.
Roz Brown, a mother of two from Corseley Road, made the discovery when she was taking her nine-year-old son Harry to Cub Scouts. Had it landed on a person, it could have caused a very serious injury.
Mrs Brown said: "When I first went out to the car at about 6.15pm there was no ice, but when I went to take Harry we discovered what we thought was broken glass shattered everywhere.
"Planes turn around overhead on their descent into Gatwick Airport and it could have fallen from there. It's very interesting."
She joked: "Either that or our neighbors defrosted their fridge and threw the contents at us."
The incident happened on February 3.
Harry was very excited by the mystery discovery and brought out his microscope to examine it further.
The shards were wedge shaped, the lower half solid ice and the upper half perforated with thousands of perfectly aligned tiny vertical tunnels.
"The ice must have formed rapidly and at altitude," Mrs Brown added.
"We're glad we were not getting in the car when it happened. The smooth contoured edge of the largest piece was the shape of an airplane."
Aviation expert Jonathan Nicholson said it was certainly possible the ice could have come from a passing aircraft.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: "We have around 30 or 35 reported cases a year. As the aircraft descends and as the temperature around it rises, it is possible the naturally formed ice could melt and fall."
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