The Northern Lights lit up the skies over Buckinghamshire with bright pink hues last night.

The dazzling natural phenomenon, also known as aurora borealis, was seen across England last night, including above High Wycombe, Amersham and Princes Risborough.

And members of the Bucks Free Press Camera Club captured some gorgeous shots of the light display - scroll through our gallery to see some of the best photos taken by our readers.

The Met Office said relatively clear skies across the UK had created a “decent chance of visibility” last night and early this morning, with sightings also expected across southern England on Saturday night.

Stephen Dixon, 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.

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The auroras on Earth, which are most commonly seen over high polar latitudes but can spread south, are chiefly influenced by geomagnetic storms which originate from activity on the Sun.

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.

Sunspots 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.

The phenomenon, which is relatively rare in the UK, was last seen above Buckinghamshire in September.