Evidence of the biggest meteorite ever to hit the British Isles has been found

large object hit north-west Scotland about 1.2 billion years ago.

The space rock struck the ground near the present-day town of Ullapool

found what they believe to be debris which was flung out when the impact crater was formed.

"If there had been human observers in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago, they would have seen quite a show,"

"The massive impact would have melted rocks and thrown up an enormous cloud of vapour that scattered material over a large part of the region

The crater is suspected to lie under the Minch, the waterway that separates Lewis in the Outer Hebrides from the north-west Highlands of Scotland.

Unusual rock formations in the area were previously thought to have been formed by volcanic activity.

Ejected material from the meteorite strike is scattered over an area about 50km across.

researchers found elevated levels of the element iridium, which is characteristic of extra-terrestrial material.