A RARE and beautiful sighting of the Northern Lights in Dorset has been captured on camera by a professional photographer.

Ollie Taylor, a landscape and nightscape photographer from Portland, spent over eight hours in a field in Blandford taking a series of shots of the poppy fields in the daytime and under the stars of the Milky Way.

However, he said he "did not expect to see the Aurora activity this far south" when the bright pink glow of the Northern Lights lightened up the sky.

He added: "As I turned from shooting the Milky Way I could see the bright streaks coming down over the horizon. I don't think they've ever been photographed in Dorset before!"

  • Visit Ollie's website here

In its blog, the Met Office said a large solar storm resulted in the Northern Lights being seen as far as Dorset on Monday night.  

Bob Mizon of Dorset-based Mizar Travelling Planetarium said: "You can see Aurora Borealis not frequently but occasionally in this part of the country.

"I've lived in Wimborne for 33 years and I have seen them around 15 or 16 times in that period. It shows you don't have to go to Norway."

He added there was a big spike in the earth's magnetic field, which gave rise to the Northern Lights on Monday.

"However, if you have light pollution, which Bournemouth has, and possible cloud then don't get your hopes up. My advice is to head out somewhere like the New Forest, away from Bournemouth or Poole, and find a dark sky where you can see north."

The Met Office have said there is potential for another night of aurora views on Wednesday night. Northern Scotland & north of Northern Ireland are the favourite areas to see the dazzling display although there could be cloud cover. 

If you want to see the lights, the Met Office says you'll need to wait until at least half an hour after sunset and go outside away from artificial lights, letting your eyes become accustomed to the dark before looking north. 

If you have taken any shots of the Northern Lights in Dorset, we'd love to see them. Please email your pictures to digital@bournemouthecho.co.uk.