Residents in parts of northern England, Scotland and Ireland were shocked to see a “ giant fireball ” in the night sky.
A large meteor was seen passing over the country on Wednesday night, with several images and videos appearing on social media.
Some witnesses claimed the object was so low as it passed overhead they could hear it.
BBC weather presenter Barra Best shared several tweets which showed the meteor glowing brightly in the night sky with a tail behind it.
One Twitter user wrote: “Hi Barra, spotted this just now. At first I thought it was a firework, no noise and it didn't explode quickly got my phone out, are we due any meteor showers or anything?”
Another said: “Did I legit just see a shooting star in Motherwell or is that something crashing out the sky?”
The UK Meteor Network had received in excess of 200 reports from members of the public about a fireball in the sky.
There were further reports of a loud bang as the mysterious object entered the earth's atmosphere.
Witnesses also claimed the object had crashed to the north of Glasgow, although reports have not been verified.
One witness told MailOnline: “We saw it in Linlithgow West Lothian, Scotland. Heading south to north, green trail behind it. Amazing.”
Stephanie Sharp said: “Spotted in West Cumbria looking West over the Solway at approx 22:00, very long tail and slow trailing through the sky.
“I’ve seen similar fireballs in the past 10 years, but nothing as spectacular as this!”
Twitter user Greg Hughes added: “Fireball spotted crossing #Donegal this evening. Described as green and lighting up the sky. Some described hearing a load bang a short time later.”
