A Kent schoolboy has won international photographic acclaim for his stunning picture of a thunderstorm looming over seaside beach huts.

Jamie McBean, 17, from Herne Bay, took the image on the seafront near his home which has earned him the coveted Royal Meteorological Society’s Young Photographer of the Year prize and £750.

His picture, taken last November, shows bulbous mammatus clouds in the sky at sunset following a dramatic storm.

Keen photographer Jamie, who attends the Ursuline Convent in Westgate, was on his way home from school on the train when he spotted the dramatic skyscape.

“I thought it would make a good photo so dashed home to get my camera because I’m only a few minutes from the seafront.

“I was pleased with the shot so sent in to the competition. But to win Young Photographer of the Year in such a prestigious contest was a big surprise.”

Jamie is currently doing his A-levels and hopes to go on to study meteorology at the University of Reading.

As well as the cash prize, Jamie’s photo will appear in a double page spread in the Week Junior Science+Nature Magazine for which he also gets a year’s subscription.

The overall winner in the RMS weather competition was taken in Chile by Francisco Negroni who camped out for 10 days to get a picture of lenticular clouds surrounding the crater of the Villarrica volcano.

Chief Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, Liz Bentley said: “The judges had tough decisions to make this year.

"We’re delighted with the results, which show the capacity of the world’s weather for beauty and destruction, tranquility and power.

"The competition serves as a reminder that we must strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change to keep our heating planet from exacerbating extreme weather events.”