A series of “striking” images of red foxes have lead one local teenager to taking home a runner up prize in a prestigious photography competition.
The pictures – titled ‘Red Fox Amongst the Buttercups’ – were taken by 16 year old Ben Harrott from Oldham, whose entry was picked from a record 11,000 others this year to see him secure the runner up prize in the ‘Portfolio’ category of the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2020.
The annual competition – which is now in its 30th year – invites young photography enthusiasts aged up to 18 years old to capture the animal kingdom as best they can on camera or on a mobile device.
This year’s entries were blind-judged online by a panel of experts in wildlife photography, including photographer and TV presenter and RSPCA Vice President Chris Packham and a number of other influential names in the field.
“When I first found the Red Fox family in early May I decided to sit and observe the movements of the vixen and the dog fox and keep a good distance,” explained Ben.
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“This is when tracking them I found they would go through a huge buttercup field every night without fail. For a few nights, I waited there but failed as they would choose another path through the field at a distance from me.
“Finally, by total surprise, one night I saw the vixen running through the buttercup field straight towards me [and] when she was about 10 metres away, she stopped and stared at me”.
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https://www.instagram.com/p/CAfTDzggn3A/
The winning images across nine categories – including three different age groups and an Instagram category – were announced during an online awards ceremony hosted by Chris Packham last week.
Reflecting on the competition this year, Chris Packham said: “The quality of entries this year as the competition celebrates its 30th anniversary has been astounding [and] we felt that the lockdown ironically worked in all the young photographers favour [as] they really did enter fantastic pictures.
“I’ve been judging the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards since they started.
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“It’s exciting to have seen it move with the times, with new options regularly being introduced… [and] we’re also pleased that the Mobile Phone and Devices category continues, because as no separate camera is required, this has really opened up the competition to almost anyone.
“The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards is a true celebration of the animal kingdom and one I feel honoured to be involved with.
“Every person shortlisted should be proud of their contribution to a world that’s kinder to all animals.”
He continued: “I’m really pleased to see everyday, overlooked animals given some leverage here.
“It’s a new take on something very familiar that normally gets a bad press. From a wonderfully commanding image of a woodlouse that looks like an alien to the dynamic composition of two pigeons, one with a scabby foot, it’s nice to see so many creative photos of a range of wildlife and people’s pets in such a strong competition.
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“Top work to all the finalists and thank you for sharing and inspiring us with your passion for nature and photography.”
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You can view all the winners and runners-up in the Young Photographer Awards 2020 via the RSPCA website here, and you can also find more of Ben Harrott’s work via his website, and social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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A local Manchester run club is holding two special running routes to see the total eclipse
Danny Jones
With the highly anticipated total eclipse fast approaching, people not just here in Greater Manchester but all over the UK, Europe and the rest of the world are gearing up to try and watch it – but this native running club are doing it a bit differently.
Eclipses occur once every 12-18 months, but this is set to be the biggest since 1999.
The moon is set to cover approximately 96-98% of the sun this coming Wednesday, 12 August, 2026, and rather than try to watch it from a window at home or drive to somewhere with supposedly ‘the best view’, local sports club Manchester Road Runners are turning it into their latest one-off event.
Sharing details online, the free-to-join local organisation, which boasts thousands of members on Facebook and various other platforms, will be timing things to make sure they catch the phenomenon.
Writing in the accompanying caption, the Road Runners say: “We’ve pulled some strings and have a very special event taking place on August 12th, a solar eclipse! Come run with us under a darkened sun next Wednesday from The Wharf at 18:30, with peak moon coverage expected at around 19:10.”
Better still, they’re also teaming up with their trail running spin-off club for an even more scenic twist on the evening excursion.
“If you prefer to experience your solar phenomena under the wide open skies”, they go on to write, “our friends over at Trail Division will be holding a hike/run off road, meet at Piccadilly Station at 18:00 to get shady in the great outdoors.”
Fortunately, they have issued an important disclaimer, going on to remind runners that “while beautiful and majestic, the sun should NEVER be directly looked at in the face unprotected”, signing off by adding, “Respect the sun, respect your peepers, stay ocularly safe out there.”
If you’ve never come across MRR before, they’re probably the biggest run club in the entire Greater Manchester region and their social-first jogs, intervals, track sessions and more revolve around meeting back up with your mates for a wholesome pint and a chat.
For many, it’s the biggest and the best in the city.
As for the eclipse run, it’s set to be a very magical variation on their usual Wednesday evening meets.
Quite rightly, they also point out in the post that you can actually buy certain glasses to view eclipses on these rare occasions, with search traffic often ramping up in and around these events.
Meanwhile, the Trail Division branch is yet to confirm the route for their run/hike, but it will most likely remain in the nearby North West vicinity; keep your eyes peeled on their social media pages (linked above) for more information and other upcoming trail events.
Speaking of trail runs, there’s a pretty beautiful albeit challenging one coming up next month…
Stunning vistas, walkers welcome, and multiple distances available.🏃♂️🥾
And the best part? It's less than 90 minutes away from Manchester. 🏞️
Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date
Danny Jones
Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.
My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…
We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.
Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.
As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.
If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.
We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.
Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.
The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.
What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”
All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.
The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.
Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.
This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?
Emily Sergeant -
30th December 2020 
