A photographer has captured the spellbinding moment that the Northern Lights shone over Dorset.

Robin Goodlad shared the images that he captured to Twitter of the aurora borealis over Knowlton Church in Cranborne, Dorset, at around 9.04pm last night, describing the experience as 'absolutely unforgettable.'

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, appear as large areas of colour including pale green, pink, shades of red, yellow, blue and violet in the direction due north.

They occur as a consequence of solar activity and result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere.

This incredible occurrence can be occasionally seen in the night sky over Britain. While it is rare, the UK has been treated to the phenomenon for the past two nights - and if you've missed it, there's another chance tonight.  

The Northern Lights are likely to be more visible than usual from the South of England over the next two years, as the sun becomes more active with the approach of the solar maximum, astronomers have predicted.

Elsewhere on the Dorset/ Hampshire border, the phenomenon was captured by Kerrie Gardener who caught the amazing shot between Lambert's Castle, near Marshwood in west Dorset, and Hawkchurch, Devon. 

Dorset Echo: Stunning colours of the Northern Lights on the Dorset/Devon border Picture: Kerrie Gardner (Image: Kerrie Gardner)Stunning colours of the Northern Lights on the Dorset/Devon border Picture: Kerrie Gardner (Image: Kerrie Gardner) (Image: Kerrie Gardner)

Ms Gardener said: "If you’d have told me yesterday morning that by 9pm I’d be stood in a random field photographing the aurora borealis I would not have believed you - but you’d have been right.

She explained that the experience was 'Definitely worth the cold toes.'

"I'd seen reports that the aurora might be visible from many parts of the UK, but being so far south I wasn't expecting to see anything at all," said Ms Gardner.

"After waiting nearly an hour near Lambert's Castle without seeing anything I decided to head home, but I passed a north-facing field on the way and thought I'd give it one more try.

"Clouds were fast approaching, so I quickly set up my camera and took a few photographs and to my amazement I could see red and green light pillars on my camera display screen. The aurora wasn't visible to my eyes (and nor was I expecting it to be, as my eyes aren't as sensitive to light as my camera) but nonetheless, having the opportunity to photograph the Northern Lights this far south is pretty special.

"Definitely worth the cold toes!"