Green and pink skies light up the North thanks to aurora borealis

The Northern Lights lit up the skies with hues of green and pink across the north of England on Thursday.

Photos of the lights, also known as aurora borealis, were captured over Cullercoats Bay in north Tyneside, on the north-east coast of England.

Bright green hues and faint colours of pink lit up the skies above Cullercoats Bay, which had ideal viewing conditions.

The natural phenomenon was also visible across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Vautrey, Met Office meteorologist, said Thursday night had “pretty ideal conditions” with “very little cloud”.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.

In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.

When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.

On Thursday, the Met Office said there would be another chance to see the lights on Friday night into Saturday, but Mr Vautrey added it looked as if it would be weaker.