Lights fantastic: Brits treated to a night of the Northern Lights

LUCKY Brits were gifted a rare treat as the spectacular Northern Lights shone over the country.
 STUNNING IN NORTHUMBERLAND: Auroras are created through solar winds, caught in the Earth's atmosphere 
 

The amazing colours were spotted as far south as Gloucestershire, Essex and Norfolk on Thursday night.

They are caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun entering the Earth’s atmosphere.

But the eerie sight, in which purple, green, red and yellow bands of light flicker across the sky, is usually only seen by Brits in northern Scotland.

WHITLEY BAY 
 

CAITHNESS