Incredible moment lightning ‘shoots UPWARDS’ into the sky from vast volcano in ultra-rare apocalyptic scene

THIS is the incredible moment spider-like lightning bolts struck near a volcano in southern Guatemala.

Footage shows the skyline above the Acatenango Volcano illuminated by the freak weather.

People were stopped in their tracks when the lightning appeared to shoot upwards from the 3,976m-high volcano through the sky.

What looked like the end of the world or a scene from Independence Day for bystanders, was in fact just an optical illusion.

Acatenango's two peaks, Pico Mayor and Yepocapa, were shrouded by thick stormy clouds, making it even more convincing.

The video was taken by daredevil Derrick Steele in the city of Antigua.

Though only a few seconds long, it is enough to raise the hairs on the back of one's neck.

He told Storyful he saw the lightning hitting the volcano on and off during the storm.

"I jumped off my motorcycle and hit record, sure enough, the second I started the video the crazy lightning went off," Derrick said.

It may not be the wisest thing to do, standing out in the rain, mobile phone in hand, waiting for lightning.

But this is exactly what Derrick did - and it appears that his efforts have paid off.

Derrick captured the once-in-a-lifetime moment in July, but the clip only went viral this week after a post on Instagram.

It comes after rare upside down lightning was captured in slow-motion footage by a "storm chaser".

Freak weather in Texas produced the backwards lightning flashes which lasted about half a second in real time but can be seen clearly in the video.

It is thought that less than one per cent of lightening travels upwards.