SKYGAZERS were treated to a spectacular display of the Northern Lights over the skies of Britain.

Increased solar activity meant that people in the North and the Midlands had the chance of catching the colourful phenomenon in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The celestial display of the aurora borealis is caused by eruptions on the surface of the Sun and recent activity has been unexpectedly strong.

The display came after large explosions on the Sun threw huge amounts of magnetically charged particles out into space.

This is called a coronal mass ejection (CME) and earlier this week it triggered a severe geomagnetic storm, prompting forecasters to predict possible sightings.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: "It was the biggest solar flare that has come to earth in the last 19 to 20 years. There were reds and greens which lit up the sky."

The best sightings were in the darkness of rural areas away from the pollution in the towns and cities.