A PORTLAND photographer has bagged a top place in a national competition with her snap of Chesil Beach.

Helen Burgess, of Underhill, won third place in the amateur maritime photography competition Wish You Were Here.

Her prize was a bottle of Old Pulteney 12-year-old whisky.

Mrs Burgess, 53, said: “I’ve been doing photography for a couple of years and really like doing anything with water.

“I’ve taken a few of Chesil Beach and that was the best one I had at the time.

“It’s just catching the right light at the right time.

“I once won a packet of porridge from Dorset Cereal when I first took up photography but I didn’t really think I stood a chance of winning anything at all.”

Mrs Burgess, a midwife at Dorset County Hospital, said: “My husband will probably end up having the whisky because I’m not a big drinker.

“For me it was just really great to win something.

“When they phoned me I couldn’t believe it, especially as there were well over 1,000 other entries.

“I was really pleased, I absolutely love photography it’s the complete opposite of what I do at work. It’s going out and doing something quiet and peaceful.

“I have had fabulous support from my family, friends and colleagues, they have all been brilliant.”

The annual competition, hosted by Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch whisky and the Sunday Express, is now in its eighth year.

Margaret Mary Clarke, senior brand manager of Old Pulteney said the judges were impressed with Helen’s Chesil Beach photo.