A METEOR shower caused panic in Leigh with emergency crews being called to reports of ‘fire in the sky’.

A crew from Leigh Fire Station were sent to Westbourne Avenue at 10.30pm on Friday night following a call from a worried resident.

Thousands of people across the north of England reported seeing balls of fire in the sky late on Friday and even though astronomers had not been expecting a meteor shower, the Met Office said it was believed to be a meteorite breaking up in the atmosphere.

Mike Eckersall, watch manager at Leigh Fire Station, said: “We were called out with a report of fire in the sky but obviously there was not a lot we could do about it.”

Did you see the meteor? Contact Leigh Journal editor Nicola Priest by email nicola.priest@leighjournal.co.uk