Northern lights dazzle over UK, Europe and across the hemisphere

People watch the northern lights at St Mary's lighthouse, Whitley Bay, north-east England. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

The aurora borealis has lit up the night sky with rare sightings across the UK, Europe and the northern hemisphere.

The northern lights were spotted in Whitley Bay on the north-east coast; Essex; Cambridgeshire; and Wokingham in Berkshire. They were also sighted in Suffolk, Kent, Hampshire and Liverpool.