The Holme Valley had a taste of the Arctic at dusk on Wednesday with the appearance of the Northern Lights.

Eagle-eyed photographer Matthew Woodhall captured the lights from Holme Moss after tracking the sun’s particles through a clever app.

Matthew, 38, from Birdwell in Barnsley, said: “I only live a few miles from Holme Moss so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to get a picture.

“The lights were quite faint, not like you see in Iceland.

“If I had been up there and not known, I would probably have missed them.”

Matthew has been keen on photography for two years, and works full time at furniture store SCS.

He added: “I have seen them many times before but there is nothing like seeing them in your own country.

“I visited Iceland and saw them there, but it’s not the same as seeing them where you live and, of course, you don’t have to spend thousands of pounds to see them.”

Northern lights spotted over the Holme Valley

Matthew has captured the lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, before in the UK having previously photographed the phenomenon over the Whitby coast on New Year’s Eve.

He said: “They’re not as rare in this country as you would think. They probably occur once a month.”

Matthew used smartphone app AuroraWatch which tracks the movement of the sun’s particles to predict when and where the lights will occur in the UK.

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He added: “I’m not exactly sure how it works but I use it to track them for photographs.”

The Northern Lights are a naturally occurring light display which takes place in the night sky in northern latitudes.

The lights are most commonly seen in Scandanavian countries like Iceland and Sweden but can bee seen in northern parts of the UK such as the North East coast and Scotland.