THIS morning's sunrise was an absolute stunner over large parts of the area. 

And as the sun rises later before the shortest day of the year on December 22, plenty of people were able to enjoy it on their way to work or school. 

A Met Office spokesman says the reason the sky was so pink was due to 'high-level clouds'. 

He added: "As the sun first broke the horizon would have been illuminated from below.

"These high-altitude clouds are mostly comprised of ice crystals rather than water vapour, so they better reflect the light to the observer."