MARTIANS were causing panic on Horsell Common again on Monday, with people fleeing to avoid being frazzled by alien death rays.

Police officers had cordoned off the sandpits on the heathland, as a crowd gathered to see where a blazing “meteorite” had landed.

Fortunately, no-one actually died when The World of the Worlds broke out for a second time on the common, when Martian fighting machines emerged from what turned out to be a spaceship.

A modern-day depiction of the HG Wells novel was being filmed in the sandpits, which the author chose as the scene of the Martian landing in his science fiction classic.

The producer, Hayley Medwell, told the News & Mail: “The story has been updated to revolve around three astronomy students who stumble across the Martians. We have tried to keep as close to the original plot as possible.”

The film, also to be shot in south London, is expected to be released at the end of next year or in early 2021.

For the full story, get the 24 October edition of the News & Mail