IT seems the Spinnaker Tower has been evacuated after reports of an explosion in a lift shaft. Suddenly the BBC television reporter gasps "Oh my god!" as the 170m tower collapses and crashes into Portsmouth Harbour - slicing an Isle of Wight ferry in half.

It's a terrifying scenario - and luckily a fake one - which has become an Internet sensation. The one-minute clip has been viewed almost 40,000 times on the video sharing website YouTube.

Portsmouth University student David Wortley created the special effects trickery as a final year project for his Computer Animation degree.

However, it has proved so realistic that some viewers have even had to call their friends to make sure the iconic tower was still standing.

Said Mr Wortley: "I had an idea of doing a disaster scenario and the tower is such an icon that it made for an obvious choice. I had an idea of having Godzilla attacking the tower, but then I decided to make it look like a realistic news report."

Mr Wortley, from Norwich, said he wanted to be controversial to provoke a reaction.

"Generally the response has been pretty positive, most people realise it's a wind up and not to be taken seriously and I've actually had a few people who work in the tower and on the ferry who say they think it's awesome."

Click on Echo video news to see what a collapse of the tower might look like, or follow the link at the bottom of this page.