THE skies over Kent could be ablaze with hundreds of shooting stars early tomorrow morning.

This year's Leonid meteor shower is expected to be one of the most spectacular to be seen over the next three decades, say astronomers.

To view the meteor shower choose a dark location, away from lights, look up towards an unobstructed part of the sky and face away from the Moon. In clear skies it may be possible to see two or three bright meteors a minute.

The shooting stars are actually particles from Comet Tempel-Tuttle which have a 33-year orbit around the sun.

As the earth passes through the cloud of dust left by the comet, these particles burn up in the atmosphere, creating the light streaks.

The area of sky to watch is the stretch between the north-east and south-east between 3am and 5am.

Robin Scagell, vice-president of the Society for Popular Astronomy in the UK, said: "If we do get a meteor storm, it should be worth setting the alarm for. But you will need to watch for some time to stand a good chance of seeing the meteors."