SCHOOLGIRL Charlotte Harding’s picture of a hard at work hamster has won her a top prize in a national competition.

Charlotte, 14, snapped her pet hamster, Pip, and entered it in an annual competition run by the charity PetSavers.

Charlotte, from Colchester, a pupil at the town’s St Mary’s School for Girls, has just been told her shot was the best in the junior section.

She said: “I just couldn’t believe I’d won. I was so pleased.

“I take pictures of Pip quite a lot. She’s so good. She just sits there, so you can get what you want.”

Pip used to be the school’s hamster, before moving in with Charlotte and her family.

Charlotte, a member of the school’s photography club, said: “I decided to gather some school textbooks and glasses to put Pip behind, because I thought it was the best way to express her character – she’s quite an intelligent hamster.

Gazette:

“It took me a little while, because I had to sort out the backdrop.”

Her image, taken on a Canon digital SLR camera, has won her £200 of vouchers to spend with photography supplier Warehouse Express. She plans to use them to buy a new lens and a flashgun.

She added: “My friends were really excited for me. My mum was saying she is really proud and my dad was really pleased.

“They all love Pip and they were so pleased we both won.”

Charlotte got into photography because her brother’s girlfriend and her form tutor are both ardent snappers.

She added: “I got a better camera and I’ve loved it ever since. I’d like to do it when I’m older. I like taking photos of animals. You can see all the different aspects of them.

“Photography relaxes me and gives me something to do.”