IT was the moment a fat squirrel got more than he bargained for after going for his daily snack.

Staging one of his regular raids on a bird feeder in a Hampshire garden he managed to squeeze his way inside and ended up getting trapped.

Now the eye-catching image has won one of the categories in the annual Marwell Wildlife photography contest.

Click here to see this year's best photos

Roger Clark, of Chandler’s Ford, gained top prize in the cute and funny section after snapping the rotund rodent “doing bird” in his temporary prison.

Mr Clark said: “I knew that one day it would be too large to get either in or out.

“As I approached panic set in and the poor creature panicked and raced around the bottom of the cage like Lewis Hamilton on steroids.

“Eventually it tired and took up the position of a prisoner who regretted his crime but had to settle down to his term.

“As I moved in closer the panic climaxed and it forced its way out by sheer desperation.”

Another Chandler’s Ford winner was Tim Archer, who took top prize in the adult Marwell Zoo residents category with his image of a macaque silhouetted against a deep blue sky.

The judges included the Daily Echo’s chief photographer, Stuart Martin.

They had to choose their favourite images in four categories – native wildlife, cute and funny, Marwell Zoo residents and Marwell Zoo endangered.

Stuart said: “I loved the photo of the macaque. With great use of negative space the photo is well composed.”

Fellow judge Laura Barwick of the BBC’s Natural History Unit liked the entry submitted by Isobel Parry, 12, of Southampton, who won the junior cute and funny category after snapping a mallard enjoying an outing on the river.

Isobel Laura said: “The duck was in an abandoned boat and kept popping his head up before going back to whatever he was doing.”

Laura added: “The drake looks right at you like something from Wallace and Gromit.”

Another young winner was ten-year-old Sophie Mont, of Southampton, who landed the junior Marwell Zoo residents prize with her image of a hornbill.

The top prize – an eight-day photographic trip to Estonia – was won by Lawrie Brailey from Lancashire, with an image of two foxes was called Feed Me.

Stuart added: “All would have been worthy winners, but for me Lawrie’s photo of the fox and cub stood out as it captured a wonderful moment in time. A glimpse into the life of mother and cub, beautifully captured with great composition. I love the look of concentrating on the young cubs face waiting to see if mum drops any food from her mouth. This photo really is a wonderful moment that i’m sure would warm the hearts of anyone lucky enough to witness such an event.

All category winners will receive an annual membership of Marwell Zoo and will also have their photographs displayed at the attraction for a year.