I found a meteorite outside my Blackpool shop - and I put it in the bin
A Blackpool businessman has made an out-of-this-world discovery outside his shop.
Paul Rump, owner of Paul James Furniture in Squires Gate, noticed a strange 12cm-wide rock next to his car when he opened up on Saturday morning.
He said: “I picked it up and it was really heavy and it looked odd. I took it inside and told one of the lads, then I threw it in the bin. Then a little while later, one of the lads said he’d heard something on the radio about a meteor shower in Stoke the other night, and that they were asking people to look out for bits of it that had landed.”
With that, Paul took the rock out of the bin and started searching for information online. He came across and American website with tips on how to identify meteorites.
He said: “All of the things they were saying to look for, it has. It draws a magnet, it has wet-look areas, it’s black and gold and it’s really heavy at just under a kilogram.”
Paul has now sent off photos of the rock for official verification. Until then, he says he doesn’t know what to do with it, but has heard that pieces of meteors sell at auction, or can be donated to museums.
He said: “It’s a very bizarre find, but lucky I suppose - and lucky that it didn’t go through my car windscreen or shop window!”
What happened?
According to the UK Fireball Alliance, a bright fireball shot across the sky on May 6, and could have dropped meteorite in the Stoke area.
The fireball firm have said that 500g of the space-rocks could have landed, with pieces between 5 and 10cm in length, while sporting a black or brown colour and a potentially glassy shell.
Speaking on the search, Dr Ashley King said that he 'hoped' someone who lives or works in the area may stumble across it. He said: "It’s probably a glossy black or brown colour or may have a glassy outer surface and may be in a place where rocks aren’t usually found, such as on a lawn or footpath. We don’t want anyone taking risks looking for it or going into areas where you shouldn’t. But if you do find something out-of-place, we’ll definitely be interested to check it out.”