THE last rays of the sun setting over Avebury star in the winning image of this year's VisitWiltshire photograph competition.

Run in association with the Swindon Advertiser and its sister titles the Gazette & Herald, the Wiltshire Times and the Salisbury Journal, the competition has seen scores of images captured from around the county over the course of the year.

And after a difficult judging session, VisitWiltshire has today named this year's winner, along with the two runner up images.

The winning image of Avebury was captured by Simon Baker from Marlborough.

The judges said of his photograph: "I love Simon Baker’s photograph of the sunset at Avebury. He has composed the shot beautifully so that the eye naturally follows the circle of stones to the magnificent sunset, and the photograph benefits from a wonderful Wiltshire sky.

"The image fits perfectly with the themes of ‘timeless wonders’ and ‘timeless places’. We so often see winter sunrise images of Avebury – it’s good to see a different perspective."

His winning photograph has earned him a Nikon D3300 camera with 18-55 lens – worth over £300 - which was put forward as the top prize by this year's awards sponsors Castle Cameras in Salisbury.

The judges have also selected two runner up images.

Gary Cox's photo of the well-known beech tree at Avebury earned him a spot here, with the Cirencester resident praised by the judges for capturing a perfect example of timeless nature. They said: "This fantastic tangle of roots and branches is captured beautifully, taken at just the right time of year - the colours are magnificent. It would have been easy to choose a wider angle shot, to include the whole of the trees, but Gary’s composition takes us right into the branches and roots as they twist towards us – a perfect example of ‘timeless nature’. Who wouldn’t want to walk here on a beautiful autumn day?"

Peter Connell's striking photograph of Silbury Hill in the frost was also named as a runner up in this year's competition.

The judges' praised the Staverton photographer's skill at capturing the panormaic shot. The judges said: "Fitting perfectly with the themes of ‘timeless wonders’ and ‘timeless places’, this panoramic shot of Silbury Hill epitomises the wide open spaces and ancient landscape of Wiltshire. Although the A4 passes beside Silbury Hill, we wouldn’t know it was there from this image. By including the whole of the row of trees alongside the River Kennet, Peter has conveyed the sense to Silbury being encircled, set apart from the rest of the landscape."

Both Peter and Gary will be presented with £50 gift vouchers to spend at Castle Cameras.