A Southampton man has today been named British Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Dr Matt Doggett 33, was named the overall winner of the competition for his image Gannet Jacuzzi.

He took the photograph at an undisclosed remote location off the north coast of Scotland, while working on a project with a friend.

The aquatic scene shows a group of the seabirds diving through the surface of the water.

The winner was named as a book which captures the diversity of Britain's wildlife is published today.

Dr Doggett said: ''It was an incredible experience being in the water surrounded by these high speed divers.''

Greg Armfield, from environmental charity World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who was one of the judges, said it is ''a striking image that manages to capture in parallel the raw power and grace of the diving gannets''.

''A beautiful and evocative shot,'' he added.

Organisers said they received thousands of entries to this year's competition, which was judged over 12 categories as well as having two junior-level awards.

The book, British Wildlife Photography Awards: Collection 3, published today, contains all of the winning images, which range from marine life, woodland and scenes from entrants' back gardens.

Competition director Maggie Gowan said: ''This has been the highest level of entries so far since the competition launched in 2009.

''Especially satisfying has been the increase in young entries with the partnership between RSPB Wildlife Explorers and BWPA, which bodes well for the future of wildlife conservation and photography.''

The winning images and commended entries will be showcased in a travelling exhibition, which will be at Mall Galleries, London from September 17-22.

Over the coming months it will also visit Nature in Art, Gloucester, Nunnington Hall, Yorkshire, Moors Valley Country Park, Dorset, Stockwood Discovery Centre, in Luton, Bedfordshire, Penrhyn Castle, in Bangor, North Wales, and Glencoe Visitor Centre in the Scottish Highlands.

Stephen Moss, chair of the judging panel, said: ''British wildlife photography is now better than ever, with some fabulous images captured by some of our greatest photographers gracing this award and exhibition.''