CATCHING a glimpse of the Northern Lights has topped a bucket list of things Britons would like to see or do before they died.

A survey of 2,000 people by the National Lottery placed seeing the aurora borealis natural phenomenon above any other personal desire.

Personal achievements also featured high on the list, with retiring comfortably featuring in second place.

Visiting the Niagara Falls, the pyramids in Egypt and the Grand Canyon made up the rest of the top five.

And buying houses for all the family, flying first class and learning a foreign language all featured on the wish list.

Andy Carter, a winners' adviser for the National Lottery, said: ''Everyone has their special bucket list of dreams but we have seen a shift amongst our winners in recent years.

''It is now less about owning a fleet of cars or getting a swimming pool installed and more about shared experiences with family and friends.

''It's gone from the tangible to the memorable.

''Fifteen years ago, winners often bought top-of-the-range cars, holiday homes and expensive designer handbags but now we hear many more tales of winners taking groups of 20 or more friends and family on holiday.

''Gifting and sharing memorable moments brings a great deal of happiness to our winners so it is no surprise to see these feature on the nation's bucket list.''