A "fireball" which lit up the skies over Scotland and prompted a number of calls to police is believed to have been a meteor.

The suspected meteor shower was spotted by many over the north of Scotland, triggering calls to police from people claiming their homes shook.

The spectacle on Monday evening was witnessed across Scotland, and prompted many to report the sight of a "fireball" in the sky and a violent bang to the police.

Reports came in of a large white flash in the sky around 7pm on Monday, with Twitter users across the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Perth saying they had witnessed the phenomenon.

Some people have reported feeling buildings shake as a result of the bang.

STV News weather presenter Sean Batty said the flash appeared to be from a meteor burning up in the atmosphere, lighting up a sheet of cloud.

He said: "I've had lots of tweets from around the north and east of the country this evening with people reporting a loud bang and a large flash in the sky. Most tweets have come from around Perthshire, Angus, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

"There are no thunderstorms being reported anywhere in Scotland this evening, therefore this is not due to a flash of lightning.

"We do not have any cumulonimbus clouds in Scotland at the moment, which are required for thunder to develop.

"My only conclusion would be that this is indeed a meteor which has burned up and exploded during entry into our upper atmosphere.

"The flash of light would be of an extraordinary level, and given tonight's full cloud cover this would have illuminated the whole sky."

Jenni Morrison captured the moment the sky lit up on her daschcam as she drove on the A944 heading towards Alford, outside Aberdeen.

She told STV News the flash illuminated the whole sky. She said: "It was amazing, I've never seen anything like it. It was like someone had switched a light on."

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said they began receiving calls at around 6.55pm on Monday evening.

She said: "One told us the sky had been lit up with an object like a fireball. Another caller said there was a very loud bang and others said the house shook.

"We know police in Inverness and in the south also received calls, it was seen by people across Scotland. "We have checked and been told it was likely to be a meteor shower."

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said they would not discuss if there was any link to any operations in the area.