A photographer has spoken of her "euphoric" feeling after capturing the Northern Lights in the skies over Kent last night.

Rebecca Douglas dashed from her Ramsgate home after she realised the dramatic phenomenon - also known as the aurora borealis - was visible in the heavens to the north.

The 38-year-old admits to being something of an obsessive when it comes to the solar light show, and has made hundreds of attempts to photograph it from the county over the years.

Last night she finally managed it - thanks to alerts from weather-tracking apps - and was able to produce these pictures of the lights in the north from Botany Bay in Thanet.

"I've been chasing the aurora for about eight years now," she said.

"I've been lucky enough to lead aurora tours in Iceland, and it's just my passion really.

"My husband did a PhD in solar physics, so it's just our geeky little thing.

"We had really atrocious weather yesterday, so when I started seeing the stats and the alerts I wasn't sure.

"Then I looked out and saw stars, I took a test shot and I was like 'oh my god, I've got a sky full of red aurora', and that's the first time I have ever caught it here."

Ms Douglas then headed to the coast in the hope of getting a clear shot with the Kent coast identifiable in picture.

Attempts to do so in Broadstairs were scuppered by light pollution from the town, but then at Botany Bay she was able to get the magnificent light clearly visible above the shoreline.

"It's just something that has completely captured my imagination," she said of the Northern Lights.

"But obviously living in the south of the UK isn't something I get to do here very often successfully.

"I feel really euphoric, the dopamine rush has been quite intense with this.

"There are a few 'bucket list' shots in my head that I'd love to capture, and this is probably the top one."

The aurora borealis, which is caused by solar winds hitting the earth's atmosphere, is more visible at higher latitudes - hence the Northern Lights.

But on occasions they can be seen further south and last night the dramatic sight was visible across large parts of the country, weather permitting.

Last month they were seen in Kent and one photographer managed to capture shots of the phenomenon in Herne Bay.

Ms Douglas says anyone hoping to see the lights for themselves in future should use space weather apps and social media to track when a sighting may be possible.

"One of the things to look at firstly is the weather here because we need clear skies," she said.

"So if you look out and you know where north is, because we will only ever see it north here, it's very unlikely to be overhead because we're so far south, if you've got stars in the north view then you know that you've got a clear sky."