A COFFIN maker in Indonesia became an instant millionaire - when a $1.8million lump of space rock crashed through his roof.

Josua Hutagalung, 33, was at home when the football-sized meteorite smashed through the veranda at the edge of his living room.

Experts have hailed the 4.5billion-year-old space rock as one of the most significant meteorite finds ever - saying it could contain elements which give clues to the origins of life.

Josua, of Kolang, in North Sumatra, has already sold the rock to a specialist collector - given him enough money to retire and build a new church in his village.

He said: "I was working on a coffin near the street in front of my house when I heard a booming sound that made my house shake. It was as if a tree had fallen on us.

"It was too hot to pick up so my wife dug it out with a hoe and we took it inside."

He was given the equivalent of 30 years' salary for the 2.2kg rock.

The kind-hearted dad-of three pledged to use some of the money to build a church for his community.