A police force has released footage of a "fireball" meteor caught on an in-car camera by a motorway patrol.

The 10-second video clip filmed by officers in the West Midlands shows a bright object hurtling through the sky above a traffic island on the M42.

A police spokesman said officers had recorded the footage as they left the southbound carriageway on the motorway near Solihull at 3.04am on Monday.

In a tweet accompanying the film, the West Midlands Police traffic unit said: "We're used to catching suspects on camera but on Mon we recorded this meteor fireball in the sky."

T he meteor, said by some witnesses to be green in colour, was also spotted in the West Country, Wales and other parts of the West Midlands.