Image copyright @Laurenjademidd Image caption Lauren Midd captured a full rainbow arc over Beaminster in Dorset

Pink rainbows have been spotted in the south and west of England.

The phenomenon was captured in areas including Dorset, Somerset and Gloucestershire on Monday evening.

A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky.

"Rainbows witnessed at dawn and dusk can, on occasion, be pink because of the low sun angle at that time of day," said BBC Weather expert Lan Boutland.

"At sunrise and sunset, the sunlight has to travel through a thicker slice of atmosphere and so much of the shorter wavelength light has been scattered by the time it reaches our eye.

"This leaves mostly the red end of the spectrum to be refracted and reflected - hence the pink appearance."

Image copyright clive Image caption BBC Weather Watcher "Clive" snapped this shot of the sky over the village of Mark in Somerset

Image copyright julesw Image caption The skies were purple over Piddlehinton in Dorset where this rainbow was spotted

Image copyright Chris Bird Image caption It was a similar picture for Chris Bird who took this photograph in Tetbury, Gloucestershire

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Image copyright Guy Rich Image caption Guy Rich took this picture from Wyke Regis, Dorset, of an arc over Portland

Image copyright Sunny Jim Image caption The flare of a rainbow was also spotted in Winterhead, Somerset

Image copyright daddydaddys Image caption This arc was captured by BBC Weather watcher "daddydaddys" in Dorchester, Dorset

Image copyright MillyMolly Image caption This was the scene over Badgeworth in Somerset where the rainbow appeared to be more regular

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