Stunning photos catch moment Northern Lights light up British skies under Milky Way

While holidays to Iceland look unlikely for the foreseeable future, Brits trapped in lockdown were treated to a show of their own last night when the Northern Lights flashed over Northumberland.

Photographer Jayne Dickinson had been trying to capture the dazzling spectacle for over two years.

And last night the budding snapper's wishes came true and she captured stunning shots of the Aurora Borealis lighting up the skies across Northumberland.

She took the incredible pictures at 7.30pm on the Bamburgh coast, Northumberland last night.

Having waited for over two hours the polar lights were only visible for 20 minutes, giving her a window of opportunity to get the perfect shot.

The skies above Northumberland on the east coast of the UK are darker and clearer than most of the country, making it the perfect spot for Northern Light hunters.

Jayne, 46, of Alnwick, Northumberland, said: “It was about 7.30pm to just after 8pm that the lights were there.

The lights were seen for just 20 minutes at 7.30pm (Jayne Dickinson / SWNS.COM)

“I have got an app that sends me alerts but I have been trying to catch them for ages.

“But obviously the apps not always right. But last night I got an alert saying they were going to be active.

“I was just absolutely buzzing that I had pictured them as I had been trying to get them for just over two years.

“You have just got to be there at the right time."

The glowing yellow lights of the Aurora Borealis can sometimes be caught beneath the Milky Way in parts of the UK (Reiss McGuire / SWNS.COM)

The Northern Lights are mainly visible in the Arctic Circle and Iceland, which sits just below it.

But earlier this month a G2-class solar storm erupted near the sun, throwing bright auroras across Canada, Alaska, and even Scotland.

Jayne said she was just one of two people at the Northumberland spot trying to catch the elusive phenomenon.

“Even though the alert went on all night after I had shot them it died off within 20 minutes," she said.

“There was somebody else there as well further up but I was just trying to get them for myself.

“I’m still learning and am self-taught and I have been up to Scotland quite a lot as they are more visible up there.

“But obviously you can’t at the minute it’s just something I wanted to picture even before I was learning photography.”