A MYSTERY worthy of the X-Files is unfolding after a teenage girl sparked an out-of-this-world alert.

University scientists and the national media are in a frenzy over whether Siobhan Cowton saw a meteorite come crashing to earth in her North Yorkshire street.

The 14-year-old has been the centre of attention since she was struck on the foot by a smouldering lump of rock, which experts believe may be from outer space.

Siobhan was standing outside her home in Bullamoor Road, Northallerton, when the object fell from the sky on Thursday.

The Northallerton College pupil said: "It is not that big and you can fit it in the palm of your hand - but it was quite hot. It was a shock to me and my family were surprised."

Sensing the potential importance of her find, Siobhan turned to the Internet, studying scientific sites which left her in no doubt that it was part of an iron meteorite.

Siobhan's father, Niel, said he had been stunned to discover something which may have travelled billions of miles through space ending up in North Yorkshire.

He said: "The odds of winning the Lottery are better than something like this happening. It must be millions-to-one.

"It is definitely an item that we will treasure."

National newspapers have descended on the family's home, ahead of the rock being sent off to Durham University for analysis.

This follows claims of Sylvia Mercer, who said a meteorite had crashed to earth just yards from where she was walking her dogs in York last March.

After police sealed off the area and Army bomb disposal teams were brought in, it emerged that the more likely explanation was that an electricity cable had exploded and blown upwards.