The unexplained mystery of crop circles has perplexed people throughout the years.

Many crop circles have appeared in our area and these pages show some of the crop circles Dorset Evening Echo photographers have captured over the years.

The first accounts of crop formations start in the 16th century, when they were attributed to fairies or the devil.

Over the course of many years people have travelled throughout rural areas and have been fascinated by the appearance of mystical crop circles.

The phenomenon hasn't been quite so entertaining for the farmers whose crops were damaged by an ever increasing variety of designs carried out in the dead of night. According to cereologists, who study the origins of circles, creators use tools such as ropes, ladders and planks of wood to flatten out their design

Crop circles have often attracted the attention of local enthusiasts - the circle pictured at Winfrith Newburgh in 1992 with 13-year-old schoolboy David Mustoe was thought to be a genuine crop circle and not the work of hoaxers.

The crop circle at Maiden Castle, pictured in 1994, left the Echo asking - 'Are the spirits of the ancient Britons descending from Maiden Castle and leaving us a message - or is this a fake crop circle adding to the controversy surrounding the phenomenon?

Back in the 1990s when crop circles were at the height of their popularity, tourists from all over the world would come to see them.

The patterns sparked rumours of aliens and theories of fiendishly difficult mathematical formulas hidden in their meaning.

Despite the intrigue of the circles, most scientists now agree that crop circles are man-made.