Swimming snake photo wins Lymington schoolboy top RSPCA photo award

AN 11-year-old Lymington boy's stunning photo of a snake swimming in a river in South Africa won him a top prize in the RSPCA’s Young Photographer of the Year Awards.

Max Pletzer was on a family holiday travelling on the Kerbooms River in Plettenberg Bay along the garden route when he saw a baby boomslang snake in the water.

He said: “I grabbed my camera, lowered myself down in the boat as fast I could and just kept taking photos, all the while playing around with the ISO, shutterspeed and depth of field.”

The result wowed the judges, including New Forest naturalist Chris Packham who praised the entries, saying: “We have seen a fantastic array of animals featured across this year’s competition.

"Every year I am impressed by the level and skill in the photographs that are submitted. This year’s entries were magnificent – top work everyone.”

Max’s shot took top spot in the under-12 category of the awards, beating 4,000 other entries.

Max said: “I’m so happy that the judges liked my photo so much."

To see the winners of the competition visit young.rspca.org.uk/ypa/home