HUNDREDS of people gathered at Stonehenge last night for the annual Winter Solstice event.

It was also live-streamed across the globe by English Heritage.

The official Stonehenge Twitter said this morning that an "unprecedented number" of vehicles arrived to watch the sunrise, and that all car parks were full by around 7.50am.

The winter solstice is caused by the Earth being tilted on its axis, which affects the arc the Sun rises and falls along each day.

More: PICTURES: Annual Winter Solstice Lantern parade returns

Royal Museums Greenwich says: "The winter solstice occurs at the minimum point for the northern hemisphere when the Sun is lowest in the sky.

"At this time, the Earth's North Pole is pointing away from the Sun."

Basically, this means that the northern hemisphere will experience its shortest day in terms of hours of sunlight.

Following this, the days will get longer and the nights will get shorter as we eventually transfer into spring.