A NEWPORT amateur photographer has had one of his pictures named among the winners of a national competition.

David Jones entered his picture of great spotted woodpeckers into the 2022 Wilko Wild Bird Calendar competition which ran from December to late January.

The judging panel at wilko were "so impressed with the beautifully captured image" that it was chosen to be one of the winning twelve entries.

Mr Jones received a £100 Wilko voucher and the photograph has been selected as one of twelve images to be featured in the official 2023 Wilko Wild Bird calendar.

He said: “You never think you will be chosen as a winner, especially with competitions as well-known as the Wilko Wild Bird competition.

"My passion for photography began fairly recent, but I am so pleased to have been chosen as one of the lucky winners.

“As a Wilko customer for many years, the chance to have my image featured in its Wild Bird Calendar was an honour, and I’m really pleased that my image made it to the final selection.”

Daniel Bingham, senior pets buyer for Wilko said: “The annual wild bird competition is always a highlight of the year, and we are always amazed at both the amount and the quality of entries that we receive.

"We are delighted to see how many photography enthusiasts want to have their image included in the calendar and it’s always an incredibly tough job trying to shortlist a selection of winners from so many impressive submissions.

“We’re really looking forward to seeing the final printed calendar with the winning entries taking pride of place.

"We’d like to thank every single person who has entered the competition.”

The 2023 calendar will be on sale in store and available online at wilko.com later this year.

Are you an amateur photographer from Newport or the wider Gwent area?

Why not join the South Wales Argus Camera Club here