Northern Lights outshine West Midlands Bonfire Night fireworks

Lee Newman took this photo on Clee Hill in Shropshire

The Northern Lights put on a display across the West Midlands to rival bonfire night fireworks on Sunday.

The lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, were photographed all over the region and across the UK.

On show further south than usual after a major geomagnetic storm, they were seen in Kent and the Isle of Wight.

The lights are caused by the interaction of the solar wind - a stream of charged particles escaping the Sun - and the Earth's atmosphere.

Andrew Fusek Peters photographed the lights over the Long Mynd in Shropshire

This photo of the Aurora was taken by Chris Steers in Stafford

This photo of the lights over Leominster was shared by BBC Weather Watcher bbroastro

The Northern Lights are spectacular natural light displays which are most often seen in regions near the North Pole.

The lights are caused by the Sun ejecting huge clouds of gas - and the larger those clouds, the more impressive form the Northern Lights.

They appear as bright, swirling curtains of lights in the night sky and range in colour from green to pink and scarlet.

BBC Weather Watcher Joe Williams captured the Aurora over Sutton Coldfield

Owen Watts was another photographer to share images of the lights over Shropshire

Alex Murison said this display over Shropshire was "My kind of firework display"