KEEN snappers woke up before the break of dawn to take pictures of the supermoon lunar eclipse.

The exciting spectacle happened in the early hours of this morning.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and the moon are aligned. The full moon appears to glow red as it is covered by the Earth’s shadow, creating the blood moon.

The eclipse began at around 2.30pm and finished just before 8am, with the greatest eclipse happening just after 5pm. It was known as the super blood wolf moon.

Among those taking pictures of the special lunar eclipse, was Daryl Turner, a county councillor, in Lyme Regis.

He said: “I was in my back garden before the street lights came on. The moon and stars were beautiful, the moon went a deep rich red. I took a few snaps by hand and went back inside for my tripod. I came back a few seconds later to find only cloud, no moon! I only had a window of a few minutes.”

Jim Perkins, from Weymouth, said: “For me early mornings are my favourite, nice and quiet, easy to park the car and as the sun rises the colours are at their best. To catch the blood wolf moon on a clear sky was a bonus and a pleasure to see.”

Verity Pixie Hill took most of her pictures from the loft of her home in Southill, Weymouth.

She said: “I didn’t manage to get a picture of it completely in the blood phase as my camera wouldn’t even pick it up, but I was very happy with the photos I did take. It was an amazing experience to watch.”