East Midlands sky gazers capture Northern Lights

The old colliery at Pleasley in Derbyshire was framed by the display

The Northern Lights have lit up large parts of the East Midlands with a spectacular display.

Although a regular sight further north, it is rare to get such an extensive show so far south.

They could be seen after one of the strongest geomagnetic storms since 2003 hit Earth, with a rare solar storm warning issued.

Enthusiasts and passers-by captured purple, green and blue lights dancing in the sky at around midnight.

The lights reflected in Rutland Water

Northern Lights over Mam Tor

Danny Shepherd, from Manchester, said: "I had been watching the weather apps all week, so I knew it was going to be a huge light show over 48 hours and which direction it was coming from.

"Friday had the most clear coverage, so I headed to the Peaks as I always wanted to catch Mam Tor under the Northern Lights, so I set up on Rushup edge.

"It was spectacular, you didn't need a camera as it was so clear with the naked eye. Just phenomenal to see so locally."

Fiery reds mixed with the greens over Sutton Bonington in Nottinghamshire

Astronomer Eleanor MacDonald, said the storm could create knock-on effects.

She said: "What has caused this is five mass coronal ejections from our sun.

"So these are pockets of plasma that our sun has essentially spat out and they have started to hit us today.

"And with a big pocket of high energy particles, they can interfere with anything that is electrical.

"So satellites can experience outages which can have an effect on GPS and internet communications."

The church tower in Tideswell seemed to be reaching for the light

Residents in Gedling were treated to shimmering purples and blues

Experts have said if you missed last night's display, there might be another chance to see it this evening.

Sibson in Leicestershire was also a good place to spot the display