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This stunning picture of the Iron Men on Crosby beach bathed in the Northern Lights was captured by ECHO photographer Gavin Trafford.

Gavin took the snap at 2am after learning on Twitter the bright dancing lights, know as the aurora borealis, had been seen in the south of England.

Gavin said: "I was actually in bed and checked Twitter for one last time. I saw the aurora had been seen as far south as Essex. I knew if I got up in the morning and found out I'd missed it I'd be sick. So I got out of bed and went down to the beach."

He was all alone on the beach when he got his shot - which has proved a big hit on social media.

A modest Gavin added: "There were some amazing shots from across the country. But it's always been a dream of mine to photograph the aurora and to see it was out of this world."

The lights seen across the UK on Thursday night were the result of a major sun storm that sent radiation in the form of charged particles colliding into the Earth’s atmosphere.

The aurora are most commonly seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres but their appearance over the skies of Britain are a far rarer event, happening just two or three times a year.

Scientists say that a huge solar event, known as a “coronal mass ejection”, that took place last week was responsible for the lights being visible in places as far south as Gloucestershire, Essex and Norfolk.

“When the sun has a major geomagnetic event, the flux of particles is so high that they can penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere at lower latitudes, which is why in England it is only after these storms that we can see the lights,” said Professor Mike Kosch, of the University of Lancaster.

“The sun has its own magnetic field and sometimes it undergoes a major perturbation for reasons that we don’t entirely know. The corona of the sun is highly charged and at a very high temperature releases charged particles, which we call coronal mass ejections.

”Particles in the form of electrons and protons are hurled from the sun’s atmosphere and are blown towards the Earth by the solar wind. Often these particles are then deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field but as it is weaker at either pole, some enter the Earth’s atmosphere and collide with other gas particles, causing the light display.

Many different colours can be seen, with green and pink being the most common, but red, blue and yellow are also possible.

The rare red aurora seen in parts of England yesterday was caused by high-altitude oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere, which can be as high as 200 miles. Green, which is most visible to the human eye, is the result of low-altitude oxygen while the blue and magenta colours indicated the presence of nitrogen but cannot be detected with a naked eye.

Usually the best spots to see the lights are those places close to the North Pole, such as Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

The aurora borealis can also be extremely bright or very dim according to Prof Kosch.

To increase your likelihood of seeing them, the professor recommends venturing out around ’magnetic midnight’ which is between 8pm and 12am in the UK and find a dark viewing place without street lights.

“Last night, the aurora borealis was around three hours long, but it could be as little as a few minutes. For people who don’t want to sit outside in the cold, the best thing is to subscribe to Aurora Watch online which alerts users to the presence of an aurora near the UK. Auroras make no sound and unless they are extremely bright you won’t seem them,” added Prof Kosch.

In the southern hemisphere the lights are known as the aurora australis and often can be mirror-like images that occur at the same time as the north.