AMAZING shots of wildlife in the North East have put two young photographers in the running for a prestigious national prize.
Will Nichols and Samuel Hood have beaten off competition from thousands of hopefuls to be on the shortlist of the RSPCA Young Photographers Awards.
Will, who is 16 and from Haydon Bridge Northumberland, will be at the award ceremony at the Tower of London on December 16.
He has already been named the Young British Wildlife Photographer of the Year in 2009 and highly commended in the same competition a year later.
Now his photograph Red Squirrel in Evening won him a place in the RSPCA final.
He said: “I sat for five hours a day, probably 40 hours in total to get the picture of the red squirrel. Patience is needed for this kind of work.
“I was in Kielder when I took it. You can see light streaming across the face of the squirrel as it was sitting on a log.” Will has always been interested in the environment and hopes to become a wildlife presenter on TV.
Last night his mother Marion said: “I think the photograph is fantastic and I am really proud of him.”
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