A pet rat eating a piece of banana has won a teenager a national photographic competition.

The public has voted 17-year-old Maya Howarth, from Bromley, winner of the RSPCA People’s Choice photo competition.

Maya’s image of her pet rat Pecan was one of 13 animal snaps taken by youngsters ranging in age from eight to 18 which were shortlisted for the animal charity’s competition.

More than 6,000 votes were cast online by members of the public with Maya’s photo achieving a quarter of all the votes.

Maya said: "I'm so excited to have won, and want to thank everyone who voted for me.

“This is my pet rat Pecan. I like the way the light in this photo highlights all her whiskers. Banana is her favourite treat so this made it possible to get her to stay still briefly to be photographed. I also like the way she looks so happy in this photo.

"My photography teacher recommended that I entered this competition because I'm doing animal photography for my A-level project. I enjoy taking photos of pets because I like trying to capture their personalities.

"I would like to be a photographer and I'm going to study photography at university next year, and I would encourage anyone with an interest in animal photography to enter the competition next time."

Maya's prize as the RSPCA People’s Choice competition – part of the animal charity’s annual RSPCA Young Photographer Awards – includes £100 of Amazon vouchers, a trophy and a certificate.

RSPCA vice president Chris Packham announced the winners of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2021 at an online awards ceremony back in December, following judging in September.

The People’s Choice award is part two of the main RSPCA Young Photographer Awards competition and includes an online poll where the public can pick their winning photo from shortlisted entries of the 2021 competition’s Mobile Phone and Devices category. It features three age groups of Under 12s, 12-15s and 16-18 year olds plus the Picture Perfect Pets category.

Entries for the main RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2022 will open on Wednesday, May 4.