Northern Lights spotted all over Britain as sky above UK turns a stunning purple and green

have been spotted across the UK with social media users uploading stunning photos of the rare phenomenon.

Earlier today, the warned there was a "slight possibility" of the lights being seen in areas of southern England.

Fortunately for many, clouds which have brought throughout the week, cleared in parts, allowing the lights to be seen as far south as Redhill, just 35 miles from the .

Alison Murphy shared a picture on X as she said: "Wow never thought I'd see this in Wigan."

Another user showed a dazzling green and pink image from Gillingham in Kent. Sightings also happened in Wales, according to social media users, and further north in Leicester and Edinburgh.

The lights are caused by activity on the surface of the sun as solar storms give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles.

They tend to mainly be visible in the poles or surrounding areas with their more common occurances in Scandinavia leading to them being labelled as the "Northern Lights".

The atmospheric event has fascinated and amazed human beings for millennia, with people going to great lengths to witness and capture them.

Many of these particles are deflected away but some are captured by the earth's magnetic field, strongest at each of the poles, thus making them more likely the closer you are.

According to the Met Office, the lights might still be visible in the early hours of Friday morning, with the possibility of them reappearing on Friday night, into Saturday morning.

Advice from the warns that the best conditions to view the lights are when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds. Cloud cover ultimately blocks the view of the light.