A SIX-year-old boy from Bratton Fleming has found what is thought to be a meteorite in his back garden.

Perseid meteorite found in Bratton Fleming?

Josh Chapple, of Wall Over Barton Farm, woke up on the morning of Thursday, August 13, and went out to his garden, wearing pyjamas and Wellington boots, to let out his chickens and collect eggs like he does every day.

He returned to his mother, Sarah, clutching a handful of eggs and what he thought was a "strange looking lump of coal."

Josh said: "I saw it on the ground near our back door — there were burn marks all over it.

"I've never seen anything like it before. It was dark and shiny."

The stone measures around 6cm by 4cm and is black in appearance with a shiny, almost crystal-like gleam to it.

Josh's mother Sarah said she knew at first glance that it was not coal but was still unsure what it was.

She said: "We got on the internet and, after much searching around, found pictures of meteorites that had been found elsewhere in the world — they looked just like the rock that we had found."

The night before Josh's discovery, hundreds of stargazers across the country had stayed up late in the hope of seeing the annual Perseid meteor shower.

Astronomers believed that up to 100 meteors per hour — looking like shooting stars — were expected to streak across the sky during the shower's peak.

While Sarah describes herself as "not much of a star gazer", she had planned to stay up to watch the star show herself.

She said: "We had got back from Combe Martin Carnival late on Wednesday night and I had thought to keep an eye out for shooting stars.

"However, it was far too cloudy and there was nothing to be seen.

"It was a massive surprise — who knows, it could have come straight through the roof of our house."

● Did you find any unusual looking rocks in your garden after last weeks meteor shower? If so we want to heard from you. Email us your story at editorial@northdevonjournal.co.uk.