Suffolk builder Simon Wallace captured and livestreamed Wednesday’s solar eclipse after setting up mobile equipment at a rural location near Stowmarket. He described the event as “fantastic”, helped by clear skies, and said it was especially significant because eclipses of this scale are uncommon and widely accessible to viewers.

Wallace developed an interest in astrophotography during the Covid pandemic and later built a fully automated observatory in his back garden. Around 1,500 people watched his YouTube livestream, where he provided commentary; the eclipse covered more than 90% of the sun at its UK peak shortly after 19:00 BST, making it the country’s best since 1999.