PINT-SIZED photographers from the Leys took to the streets of Oxford with camera phones at the ready for an annual competition.

Several hundred schoolchildren aged 11 to 18 from the Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys estates were invited to take part in the third annual Leys Young Photographer of the Year competition, dreamt up by a local teenager.

Every year children are invited to take pictures of local landscapes, with six category winners and one outright winner announced at a ceremony at Oxford Academy.

The event is organised by the Leys Youth Programme.

Former director Richard Colbrook said: “It was the brainchild of one of my sons, Stephen, who won the National Young Landscape Photographer of the Year competition in 2012 and is now 19.

“We realised you didn’t need an expensive camera or a £1,000 lens to take a photo and win a prize. It’s all about giving young people the opportunity to try out that art form.

“It also means that often different groups all go out together to take photographs.”

Participants were broken down into three age categories, Years 7 to 8, Years 9 to 11 and Years 12 to 13.

Each entrant submitted up to five photos in colour or in black and white, with strict rules on how much digital editing was allowed.

Judges including Stephen Colbrook, now a professional photographer, Oxford Academy visual arts subject leader Jaclyn Wiid and the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Tim Stevenson, announced the winners at the end of June.

This year’s top prize went to Oxford Academy pupil Ellis Sinnott, 16, for his stirring picture of Christmas Common, near Watlington, entitled Don’t Look Down.

He said: “I enjoy the freedom that photography gives me and the opportunity to express myself.

“I hadn’t particularly planned the photo but saw the light and the beautiful view so took my opportunity.

“Being a professional photographer one day is my dream and I’ll be studying Art and Design at Oxford College next year.”

Youngsters used all kinds of cameras, from top-of-the-range digital SLRs to their mobile phones, to compose and shoot their entries.

Each of the six category winners walked away with a £40 voucher of their choice and a certificate.

Rhys Williams-Jennings, 13, said: “It was the first time I have entered a photographic competition but I enjoyed getting creative using perspective and angles.”

* For more information about the competition visit the website leysphoto.com