Cottage owners catch a falling star

The chunk fell to earth in 1795, near the village of Wold Newton in East Yorkshire, making a loud explosion that "alarmed the surrounding country" as it landed.

The stone – which turned out to be the UK's second largest meteorite – fell near Wolds Cottage owned by Sir Edward Topham, a magistrate, who took statements from witnesses who saw the "dark body" travelling through the air.

Present owners Katrina and Derek Gray, who run the five-bedroomed cottage as country house accommodation, had a guest to stay, Martin Goff, who told them pieces of the meteorite – the bulk is kept at the National History Museum – occasionally came up for sale.

They missed one piece sold in Scotland, but then Mr Goff, a crime scene investigator with Greater Manchester Police, got in touch with a US collector Dave Gheesling, who generously offered to donate them his.

Mr Goff will hand over the rock, a common chondrite L6 with a black "fusion crust", which he has had mounted and framed, to the Grays next Friday.

He said Mr Gheesling agreed it was massive shame that they didn't have a piece of meteorite to display.