Essex pensioner in the frame

THE artistic talents of an Essex pensioner who has been a keen photographer for 65 years have put him in the frame for a national award.

Amateur photographers from across the region took part in the photo competition, organised by agriculture's c/o British Farming campaign.

The regional winner is 75-year-old Wilfred Winder, from Abbots Close, Wix, near Manningtree, for his atmospheric shot of a farmer working in the Essex countryside.

He has won £500 and his picture goes forward to compete against seven other regional winners in the final later this month.

Mr Winder's winning photograph was taken from a public footpath at Great Wigborough churchyard in August this year. It shows the countryside looking towards Peldon, with a tractor and plough hard at work in the centre.

Mr Winder said: "I've been taking pictures since the age of 10 and wanted to do it as a profession but there wasn't enough money in it. Now I'm retired I have the time to concentrate on it.

"This picture was taken in late afternoon in August. I had to wait for the clouds to disperse and the tractor to get into the right position, but I'm glad the patience has paid off."

Mr Winder enters a range of competitions, both nationally and locally, and has produced hundreds of pictures voluntarily of East Anglian scenes for English Heritage's Images of England series.

Farmer David King, the National Farmers' Union regional public relations representative, helped judge the competition.

He said: "People sometimes refer to the prairies of East Anglia but this competition demonstrates just how stunning our countryside really is."

The photographic competition was launched as part of the c/o British Farming campaign to highlight the importance of agriculture and horticulture to the rest of society.

In second place was James Woricker, of Little Thurlow, Suffolk, with his eye-catching photo of harvested fields near his home. He won £200.