TEENAGE photographer Jake Kneale has snapped up a top prize in an international competition run by the Royal Horticultural Society.

Jake, 16, who lives in Beechingstoke, near Pewsey, claimed the overall youth award for a picture taken in a meadow near his home.

Jake said: “My interest in photography was sparked by an amazing family holiday to New Zealand, when I was twelve.

“For the holiday I borrowed my uncle’s old DSLR camera and started teaching myself photography - I was hooked.

“ Since then, I’ve spent all my free time taking photos around where I live and on a number of family trips.”

Jake’s main first love is wildlife photography but he is also interested in taking pictures of landscapes, insects and flowers.

He said: “I was delighted to win the Overall Youth Prize in the RHS photography competition It is always a privilege to see my photo amongst so many beautiful photos.”

Jake, who is a pupil at Bishop Wordsworth grammar school in Salisbury, called his picture The Long Wait.

A spokesman for the RHS competition said: “It is backlit by early morning sun. A spider sits patiently in its web, which is suspended between two cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) plants in a Wiltshire meadow.

“The soft, golden light gives the image an ethereal feel. It was shot on a Canon 7D using a 70-200mm telephoto lens.”

Jake said: “To be a professional photographer would be my dream.”

The RHS spokesman said: “The competition encouraged people to submit their best photos of the natural world.

“It was open to both amateur and professional photographers from anywhere in the world.”

Jake won a prize of £150 worth of photographic vouchers.

Earlier this year Jake also won the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition.