A STARLING sunset, a smiling frog, beautiful meadows and frosty leaves are just four of the fantastic winning images in Worcestershire Wildlife Trust’s annual photography competition.

The twelve winning images will be showcased in the conservation charity’s 2016 calendar that will celebrate the beauty and diversity of Worcestershire.

More than 320 images by 62 photographers were entered into the popular competition, launched in November last year.

Wendy Carter, communications manager for the trust, said: “Judging this year seemed harder than ever – there are some super photographers across Worcestershire.

“Again we’re thrilled by the quantity and quality of images and are really grateful to external judge and twice a previous overall winner, Jason Curtis, for his help in whittling down the entries.

“We think we’ve got yet another beautiful calendar that demonstrates what a great county we live in and will hopefully take pride of place on people’s walls.

“Worcestershire is a very diverse county with lots of fantastic wildlife. The winning photos illustrate that everyday wildlife can be just as exciting as the rare – and go to show how important our gardens can be for many species of wildlife.

“It’s really heartening to have entries from so many people – it shows just how important and inspiring our wildlife and countryside are to so many people.”

The winning images feature as full A4 pages in the 2016 calendar and 17 runners-up will have their images as insets alongside the dates.

Four of the images were selected for an online poll, with the trust's Facebook and Twitter fans tasked with voting for their favourite.

A photograph of a blue tit in an autumnal garden taken by Pete Cheshire, of Great Witley, was crowned the winner and will be used as the calendar’s front cover.

He said: "I am really thrilled to have won this competition.

“Winning the Worcestershire Wildlife competition means a lot. It's not about the prize, it's about supporting a worthy and worthwhile cause.

“I was over-the-moon to be shortlisted for the cover and when I saw the other three images, I did not expect to win.

"So when I was informed of the result I was surprised to say the least but I feel it is an honour and a privilege to be on the cover of the trust's calendar and hope it sells very well, bringing in lots of funds for this great charity."

Competition judge Jason Curtis, of Wild about Wildlife photography, added: “Once again the entries have exceeded our expectations; the variety of subjects and the high standard of each image have made judging very challenging.

“It’s fantastic to see so many people are getting out there and engaging with the natural world and using photography as a medium to share experiences."

The calendar will be available to buy from the trust’s offices or online shop from Monday, August 3, costing £7 each.

All proceeds will directly benefit the conservation of Worcestershire’s wildlife and wild places.

A full spread of the winning photographs will be published in this Saturday's (August 1) Worcester News.