A striking image of a hummingbird hawk-moth has seen an Oswestry youngster recognised in the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2017.

Mairi Eyres’ photograph entitled Feast of Colour, caught the judges’ eyes at the prestigious event where she was awarded the runner-up prize in the 16-18 age group category.

In previous years, Mairi has won several awards for her photography in the competition, which is open to talented young snappers who were invited to capture the animal kingdom on camera or mobile device for this year’s competition.

The 18-year-old took the wonderful image of the moth while revising for her exams.

She said: “The table I sit at for revising overlooks a patio with lots of flowers around the edge.

“When I saw it I literally dropped my revision and raced out with my camera. The morning light was just hitting the lawn behind making a beautiful bright backdrop to frame the hummingbird hawk-moth against.”

Mairi was also awarded the runner-up prize in the Portfolio category for her series of stark, monochrome images of natural and man-made structures with bold linear shapes running through them.

Attracting entries from teenagers across England and Wales, the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2017 were judged by a panel of experts in wildlife photography led by Springwatch presenter Chris Packham.

Chris said: “I’ve been judging the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards since they started.

“It’s exciting to see it move with the times, with this year’s new mobile device category. It’s a great way of making the competition accessible to virtually everyone.”

The winning images across seven categories were announced during an awards ceremony hosted at the Tower of London on Friday.

Chris added: “It’s nice to see so many photos of day-to-day animals in such a strong competition. It needs real imagination to make commonplace species interesting, showing that the photographer has been really innovative.

“There are a whole range of images this year from creatures they’ve found in their back garden to pets or animals they’ve seen while they were on holiday. It’s great these young people are going out and experiencing the environment around them and in their local area.

“There are some beautiful pictures in this year’s winners gallery and real talent shining through. This year’s entrants have been really creative and that is what we want to see.”