HALLOWEEN is a month away and yet it looks to have come early as 'terrifying' looking white webs have covered a bush in Bracknell.

Luckily, it has nothing to do with spiders.

In fact, the white silk-like webbing has been spun by harmless caterpillars.

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The bushes in South Hill Park spooked one resident who walked past. She stopped to take a look and film their ghostly appearance.

Sharon Lawson said: "It was really freaky at first I thought it was a huge spider nest.

"It was huge, it covered a whole bush and up a tree. It was creepy and looked quite haunted. We didn’t get too close as we weren't sure what it was and I’m petrified of spiders but now I know I will go and have a good nose later."

Bracknell News: Photos from video taken by Sharon Lawson

According to wildlife experts, the webs are nothing to be alarmed about as they have been created by the ermine moth caterpillar which are harmless.

The caterpillars spin webs to protect themselves from predatory birds while they are feeding.

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There are many different kinds of ermine moths, with their name referring to the vast white webs they can create when living together. They are found particularly in areas where plants grow in chalk or limestone-based soils, such as Berkshire.

The moths fly at night between June and September in a single generation, where they mate and lay their eggs. It is the caterpillars, rather than the moths, that produce the silk.

The webs are made to help protect the caterpillars from predators and parasites, and the thick webbing also helps prevent any competition for the leaves they feed on.

While the webbing may look dramatic, it isn’t a risk to human or animal health, though the presence of the caterpillars eating away at the tree or hedge means that most of the leaves may be eaten by the time the caterpillars have become full-grown moths.

That said, the RHS says that these webs “should not affect the long term health or vigour of host plants”, and that the moths generally target different trees each year, so that any plant covered in silk is unlikely to be killed by the caterpillars.

In addition to trees, whole hedges can sometimes be affected, leading to striking pictures as they go about their work.

The webs will be around for another month or so before all the caterpillars metamorphose into moths, before returning again next year.