Locals walk down the snow-covered streets as frozen are gathers outside a shop in the Russian city of Murmansk

An incredible collection of snaps has revealed the darkest city on earth where there is no sun for 40 days.

Photographer Amos Chapple took a “night-mode” enabled smartphone camera to document life in Russia’s north through the polar night.

A local worker tends to his stall as darkness sweeps over the arctic city

From December 2 until January 11, the sun does not rise above the horizon in Murmansk. The city lies in the Russian Arctic circle.

Amos captures a collection of stirring images of life in the area.

The haunting image shows snow falling as locals make their way through a forest path

About 100 kilometers to the east of Murmansk, boats lie frozen in the moonlight late at night.

Murmansk was founded as Romanov-on-Murman in 1916, when Tsar Nicholas II sought an ice-free port that would allow war supplies to be shipped in from Russia’s allies.

Photographer Amos Chapple used just a smart phone to capture the incredible images over the city

Within months of the city’s founding, revolution swept the tsar from power and the city was renamed Murmansk.

In World War II, Murmansk again became vital for the Soviet Union and its Western allies.

Cars are completely covered in heavy snow during the bitter winter in northern Russia

It was a main route for delivering materiel and aid for the Red Army.

In 1941, Murmansk’s defenders held off attacks from German forces, but the city was largely wiped out by Nazi air raids.

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Source: The Sun UK