»Grandma struck by 'meteorite'«

Most people would think they were supremely unlucky to be struck by a falling meteorite, but British grandmother Pauline Aguss is grateful the rock only grazed her arm.

The 76-year-old was hit by a falling fragment of rock while hanging out washing in her garden in the county of Suffolk, eastern England, the Sun newspaper reported.

If the golf ball-sized fragment is confirmed as originating from space, Ms Aguss will be the first Briton ever known to have been struck by a meteorite.

Ms Aguss told the newspaper that she had felt a sudden sharp pain in her arm and her husband found a small chunk of metallic brown rock where she had been standing.

"I couldn't believe it when Jack found the rock on the grass. I was so relieved it hadn't hit me on the head. I could have been killed," she said.

A spokesman for the British Astronomical Association said it was "quite possible" the rock concerned was a meteorite.

The spokesman said that the chances of being struck were "tiny".