A DRAMATIC snap of her tired father perplexed by the breakdown of his farm machinery has won a Hills Croome youngster a national photographic competition.

Harriet Spiers' picture beat 1,000 rival entries by youngsters aged up to 16 to take the title of BBC TV Young Countryfile Photo of the Year.

The seven-year-old's picture shows her father, Toby, silhouetted against a sunset over the Malvern Hills, looking tired, dirty and fed up. His combine harvester had just broken down at their 600-acre Hill Croome farm.

Harriet, who was just six years old when she took the photo, found out she had won when Countryfile presenter Charlotte Smith came to Bredon School, near Tewkesbury, for a surprise presentation.

The panel of judges, including presenter John Craven and photographer Lord Lichfield, particularly admired Harriet's success in capturing her father's mood.

Her parents are delighted by their daughter's success. Her mum Alison, a professional photographer, said she was amazed at how good the picture was. However, dad Toby is a little embarrassed at how he looks in the photo.

"It's just not very flattering," he said. "It was late in the day, the combine harvester had become blocked and I look particularly grumpy! But despite all that, of course I'm very proud of Harriet."