A YOUNGSTER from the North-East has been shortlisted for a prize in the RSPCA young photographer awards 2002.

The picture by Amy Cumming, aged 16, from Stockton, will be unveiled at an awards ceremony on Thursday, December 12, in the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, where the winners and runners-up will also be announced.

More than 6,000 photographs were entered in the competition and the judges had to cut them down to a shortlist of 40.

Youngsters were invited to take pictures of any animals ranging from family pets and wildlife lurking at the bottom of their gardens to exotic animals captured on film while on holiday.

Entries were divided into two age groups: under-12s and 12 to 18s. The overall winner will receive an Olympus C-300 zoom digital camera and £250 to be presented by TV presenter Chris Packham.

The winners from each age group will receive an Olympus Mju II zoom 170 compact camera and £100. In addition, eight runners-up will get an Olympus Mju zoom 115 camera and £50.

All the winning photos will be exhibited at the Grosvenor House Hotel until the end of January.