Northern Lights and meteor spotted across the North East skies

The Northern Lights lit up the skies with bright pink and green hues visible - and some even visible to the naked eye.

Photos of the dazzling natural phenomenon - known as the aurora borealis - were captured across the region, with many taking a look, simply from their doorsteps.

ITV Tyne Tees camera operator Paul Kingston captured the lights dancing across the skies over County Durham.

They could also be seen across Darlington and Bishop Auckland, Consett, Middlesbrough, and Thirsk.

The Met Office said relatively clear skies were forecast for much of the UK, creating "decent chance of visibility" in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and possibly in the north of England and the Midlands.

A spokesman for the forecaster said there had been "more space weather events in recent months," including the Northern Lights because the sun was nearing the peak of its solar cycle.

The sun works on a cycle of around 11 years called the solar cycle – with peak sunspot activity on the surface of the Sun referred to as solar maximum.

Sun spots give the potential for Earth-directed releases of large bursts of energy, called coronal mass ejections, which can lead to aurora visibility.

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.

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