A NINE-year-old from Oxfordshire who took striking pictures of her guinea pig 'flying' through her garden has won a national photography competition.

Faith Merry, who goes to Hendreds Primary School, took a series of photographs of her guinea pig Freckle walking across a mirror in her garden, with a tree reflected in the background so it looked almost as if Freckle was soaring through the sky.

She was one of of the winners in Wantage Rotary Club's first young photographer competition in May.

Now she has been crowned one of just three winners from across the whole UK in a national contest run by Rotary International.

Her shots, which came first in the junior category, were praised by judges for displaying originality and were described as 'clever and well-shown'.

Faith said of her pictures: "What I love about one of the photos is that she looks like she is floating in mid air.

"I also like seeing her white whiskers against her black face and the reflection of her double chin and mouth."