Residents in south Cumbria managed to capture some glorious pictures of the Northern Lights last night.

Otherwise known as the Aurora Borealis, the natural phenomenon painted the skies across Monday evening and the early hours of Tuesday (August 12 and 13).

The extraordinary sight happens as a result of charged particles from the sun interacting with the gases in the Earth's atmosphere.

The gas molecules give off different colours when they are heated - the pink and purple hues seen this week were largely caused by nitrogen acting upon the particles.

A red alert was issued on Monday by Lancaster University's 'AuroraWatch' website, meaning the Northern Lights were visible across the entirety of the UK.

The best time to view the Aurora Borealis was said to be between 10pm and 2am, accompanied by the Perseid meteor shower, which happens every August.