Northern lights dazzle Devon on New Year's Day

The northern lights have been pictured over an area of north Devon.

Residents captured the pink aurora borealis as it lit up the night sky over Westward Ho! on Wednesday evening.

A Met Office spokesperson said the event was "plausible" after a coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived on January 31.

It said the effects of the CME intensified on Wednesday culminating in a "geomagnetic storm interval" between 15:00GMT and 18:00.

"It wouldn't have been this vivid with the naked eye as cameras can pick out the colours much better," a spokesperson added.

Grace Tillsley was among the people who saw the northern lights over Westward Ho!.

She said she ran out to the coastline with her daughter after getting an alert on a phone app which said the aurora might be visible locally.

Ms Tillsley said: "The camera does make it more vivid but you could clearly see the red in the sky by eye.

"I stopped a few people and pointed it out to them."

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