An aerial picture of wrecks and old oyster beds along Brigtlingsea Creek has won a photography competition organised by The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society.

Ipswich-based photographer Justin Minns’ shot – The Old Oyster Beds’ – was chosen from more than 1,000 entries to the annual competition, winning him a £500 voucher for photographic equipment.

The Society, which provides financial support to former seafarers and their dependants, encouraged photographers of all abilities to submit pictures that captured the essence of the UK’s enduring connection with the sea, including merchant ships, fishermen, coastline, harbours and ports.

It’s chief executive, Captain Justin Osmond said, “We thought that Justin Minns’ winning image really encapsulated an area of the fishing industry which can often feel neglected, but was particularly striking with the shipwreck’s presence alongside the oyster beds.”

The Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society supports fishermen, merchant mariners and their dependants who are suffering financial hardship, whether due to accident, ill health, unemployment or in retirement after a life spent working at sea. A total of £1.3 million was paid in grants during the past year in over 1,700 cases of need.