An amateur photographer has scooped a brace of prizes in two weeks after taking up the hobby only two years ago.

Lauri Hytti, from Kingston, won third prize in the Insight Guides’ annual travel photography competition and the Sunday Times monthly competition.

He said: “It was fantastic, it was absolutely phenomenal. It’s always a good feeling when your picture gets appreciated by others.”

The 25-year-old administrator for Kingston College took up photography two years ago and said these competitions were the first he has entered.

He said: “It’s just a complement to travelling and I absolutely love travelling around. It gets me moving, doing things, it’s too easy to get lazy.”

Mr Hytti’s winning images included a shot taken in Finland when he was staying in a friend’s summer cottage, another of rice fields in Vietnam and one of a high street in Malaga.

Steven Lawrence, picture editor of Insight Guides said, “The standard of entries was the highest it has ever been and it was great to see three such strong images from Lauri.”