A man was left stunned as he caught the moment a fireball flew over the north Norfolk coast.

Eastern Daily Press: A 29-year-old man from Sustead, who did not want to be named, caught the moment the chunk of space rock flew over Norfolk between Alby and Hanworth. Picture: SuppliedA 29-year-old man from Sustead, who did not want to be named, caught the moment the chunk of space rock flew over Norfolk between Alby and Hanworth. Picture: Supplied (Image: Archant)

A 29-year-old man from Sustead, who did not want to be named, filmed the chunk of space rock over Norfolk between Alby and Hanworth.

The footage was taken at 10.30pm on Monday, February 3 when the man, who preferred to remain anonymous, was driving home after meeting his friends.

The man said: "I haven't seen anything like this before. I have seen the odd shooting star but this illuminated the whole sky.

"I did think it could be a firework to begin with but quickly discounted that as it was just too large and bright."

Eastern Daily Press: A 29-year-old man from Sustead, who did not want to be named, caught the moment the chunk of space rock flew over Norfolk between Alby and Hanworth. Picture: SuppliedA 29-year-old man from Sustead, who did not want to be named, caught the moment the chunk of space rock flew over Norfolk between Alby and Hanworth. Picture: Supplied (Image: Archant)

READ MORE: Watch dramatic moment fireball crashes to earthMark Thompson, astronomer and TV presenter, said: "It is quite tricky to ascertain exactly what the object is in footage like this. My initial assessment is that this is an object classed as a fireball.

"These are related very closely to meteors and meteorites and all are rocks travelling through space that happen to collide with Earth.

"As they fall through the Earth's atmosphere, the presence of the gas causes the plummeting rock to give off the characteristic glow that we perceive as shooting stars although they are not related to stars.

"A meteor is a space rock that gets destroyed high up in the atmosphere: a meteorite is the same but survives the fiery plunge to land on Earth, and a fireball is just a bigger and brighter version.

"I see footage like this maybe a couple of times a year but there are many more that do not get caught on camera.

"You have to be looking in the right direction at the right time."