Red Arrows photo wins RAF 'image of the year' competition

A public vote has been used for the first time to choose the winner of an RAF photographic competition.

The collection of pictures, which highlight the force's work at home and abroad, showed "the clear pride of each photographer in their subjects and the service," said Paul Hudson from the RAF Museum.

The overall winner was senior aircraftman Adam Fletcher of RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, for his photograph of the new Red Arrows tail fin design celebrating the group's 50th anniversary.

In second place was Sgt Peter George, a photographer at RAF Leeming, in North Yorkshire.

He took this shot of a newly-painted Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire returning from its maiden flight in D-Day colours.

In third place was Andrew Seaward, a photographer at RAF Odiham, in Hampshire, who captured a Chinook helicopter practicing dust landings at the US Naval Air base in California.

The training exercise is used to prepare troops for action in similar desert conditions in Afghanistan.

Cpl Tony Rogers, a photographer at RAF Mawgan, in Cornwall, came fourth for his shot of a dog handler putting his dog Pacino through his paces.

Pacino is a tracker dog used for training and security at the base.

Tim Laurence, a photographer from RAF Northolt, in London, came sixth with his picture of a Typhoon fighter jet as it performed a high turn during an RAF Royal Tattoo at RAF Fairford.

He joined the RAF in 2007 as a weapon technician but retrained as a photographer.

John Eklund, a squadron leader at High Wycombe, took this shot of a Typhoon from a transport plane over a lake in the Baltic region. The jets were also deployed in Operation Ellamy over Libya.

The reservist, who works in a communications squadron, came ninth in the competition.