KEEN photographer Peter Heaton has won second prize in a national photo competition to depict the beauty of stone memorials.

Mr Heaton, from Huby, near Easingwold, went to York Cemetery to take part in Dead Art? Then & Now, run by the Memorial Awareness Board, a non-profit organisation representing memorial stonemasons.

The contest challenges the public to take two photos, one representing stone memorials from history and the other a memorial from modern times, in the hope of encouraging people to venture into their local cemeteries to discover their beauty.

Mr Heaton's photos captured the attention of a panel of memorialisation industry judges, who ranked them in the top ten from more than 250 entries.

They were then put to the public vote and he came second, winning an SLR digital camera along with a Silver award certificate.

Mr Heaton said: " I am a keen photographer so it was a delight to be given the opportunity to capture such an interesting subject."