THE skies above East Lancashire were filled with shooting stars this morning as chunks of burning rock from the tail of a passing asteroid fell into the earth's atmosphere.

The display created by the 3200 Phaethon asteroid was tipped to be spectacular, with the shower of shooting stars expected to reach its peak at 4.30am.

Astronomers gather each year to see the Geminid meteor shower, which lasts for about seven days during December.

This year it was predicted to be particularly visible to residents in Lancashire.

Dr Tim O'Brien, senior lecturer in astro physics at the University of Manchester's Jodrell Bank observatory, said: "The meteorite shower is created as the Earth travels through the debris from the tail of the asteroid. The 3200 Phaethon asteroid takes 1.4 years to orbit the sun and as it does, it leaves chunks of rock in its wake.

"These crash into the atmosphere at about 30,000mph and start to burn, creating a glow that can be seen from the ground - a shooting star."

During a clear night those watching the skies could expect to see one shooting star every 30 seconds.

Dr O'Brien added: "The Geminid shower is one of the most spectacular showers to watch.

"You can often see fireballs, where a really large chunk of rock has hit the atmosphere, and these often leave smoky tails.

"A shooting star is normally white in colour but with the Geminids you can see orange or even red shooting stars."

Despite the impressive display there was very little danger of any of the meteorites breaking through the atmosphere intact and smashing into the Earth.