People continue to visit erupted Iceland volcano despite warnings

It looks like a scene from the Lord of the Rings, but just 20 miles from Iceland's capital it is nature that is forging a new landscape, ITV News Presenter Yasmin Bodalbhai reports

Despite warnings from the Icelandic Meteorological Office to stay away from an erupting volcano near Reykjavik, people have flocked to the site to catch a glimpse of the natural spectacle.

Fagradalsfjall, which is just 20 miles outside of the capital, began erupting on Wednesday - just eight months after its last eruption ended.

The eruption in an uninhabited valley is not far from Keflavik Airport, Iceland’s international air traffic hub.

A code red had been declared to stop planes flying over the site, however it is understood the airport has remained open and no flights have been disrupted to date.

Having first erupted on Wednesday, people are still visiting the site to catch a glimpse of the active volcano

Student Noemi Löw, student, went to watch the volcano and collect samples.

She said: "So I'm a Ph.D. student with the University of Iceland, and I just went to the lava flow and took a piece of lava out of the flow.

"And later, we're going to analyse that in a lab to understand the chemical composition of the lava, because it can tell us something about the gas composition and the different components that are assembled by this lava."

Experts are unclear on how long the eruptions will last, but they believe it signals the region will remain one of the most volcanic in the world.

Speaking to National Geographic, volcanologist at Lancaster University Dave McGarvie said: “This could herald the start of decades of occasional eruptions.”