Appleby man Steve Wharton teed up some stunning shots using only his phone as the northern lights created a spectacular display above an Eden golf course.
Steve, a Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service crew manager, has been a keen aurora borealis follower during the past two decades.
And when he was alerted by a Facebook group post to their possible imminent arrival on Sunday night, the 53-year-old made his way to the town golf course at Brackenber Moor at around 10pm.
“Somebody posted it was happening so I went up there with just my iPhone. I didn’t bother with any fancy camera,” said Steve.
He didn’t have to wait long for a spectacular multi-coloured light show which lit up the Eden Valley sky.
“I’ve seen them before but never to that extent. They were spectacular — it’s the best word you can use.
“You see them more through your camera than you can with the naked eye,” he said.
“It’s a one-off to see them like that. Hopefully they will come back again but it might be another 15 or 20 years!”
Steve was alone on the golf course for the extraordinary spectacle.
But his photos were later seen by a wide audience, featuring on ITV Border and ITV’s This Morning as a nation was gripped by sky lights normally most visible near to the Earth’s magnetic north and south poles.
