Incredible video shows fireball meteor 'exploding' over Wharfedale

Aidan Patten captured the incredible footage on the doorbell security camera of his house in Burley-in-Wharfedale.

A bright line can be seen descending from the sky above Otley before the 'explosion' at around 11.30pm.

Aidan recorded the sighting on the UK Meteor Observation Network's website's fireball reporting system.

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There was a flurry of meteor sightings submitted from all over the UK and Europe at the same time.

Reports began in Norfolk and Suffolk before moving up to Lincolnshire. There were then several sightings in the Netherlands, Germany and Kelso in Scotland.

After Aidan's sighting, there were then further reports from Scotland, Luton, Gateshead, Keyningham in East Yorkshire, Ainthorpe near Scarborough, Northumberland, Pockley in Ryedale and Redcar on the North Sea coast.

All of the submissions are 'pending' and must be approved by the network before being classed as official sightings.

"I'd seen a couple of queries asking about the flash in the sky on the Facebook group Otley - Our Town, and then I reported it using a site called UKMON which has various reports and there are a lot pending review at the same time last night

"It could be the same one in the Netherlands too. Hopefully they'll be confirmed shortly.

"I guess with it being so late not so many people would have seen it - unless they were coming out of the pub! It's certainly a different one to see."

Another witness filmed the meteor over Apperley Bridge, looking towards Leeds Bradford Airport - it can be viewed here.

What is a fireball meteor?

A meteor - also known as a shooting star - is a glowing meteoroid, comet or asteroid passing through the Earth's atmosphere, after being heated be collisions with molecules that creates a streak of light.

Millions occur daily, but many are only about the size of a grain of sand. They can be random or occur in showers. Most glow for around a second.

Fireballs refer to meteors that are brighter than usual. There are around 500,000 every year, but most go unnoticed as they pass over during daytime.