Stonehenge winter solstice celebrated by a crowd of thousands

Thousands of people have gathered at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to watch the sun rise on the shortest day of the year.

Daylight on 21 December lasted for just seven hours, 49 minutes and 41 seconds.

Despite a forecast of cloud and rain, a large crowd of pagans and druids were among those to visit the ancient Neolithic monument.

The event is thought to be more important in the pagan calendar than the summer solstice because it marks the "re-birth" of the sun for the new year.

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