W-otter shot for Shropshire photographer!
It is one of the rarest sights in nature but a Shropshire photographer captured this stunning image of an otter which has taken up residence at in the county.
Tim Preston, a keen amateur wildlife photographer, had visited Attingham Park with his wife Angela and five-year-old son Lewis on New Year's Day, and they came across the otter while walking in the grounds.
Mr Preston, from Wellington, said: "Initially it was just swimming up and down the river as we walked across the fields when I saw his head pop up and because I have seen them before I instinctively knew it was an otter so we went to take a closer look."
Despite being an incredibly rare sight, Mr Preston, who works in the motor trade as a day job, said that the otter was more than happy to pose for pictures at the National Trust property.
He said: "It was completely unfazed. Normally they are quite skittish and disappear but it was happy to have its picture taken."
It is not the first time Mr Preston has captured pictures of an otter, having taken photos of ones at Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury last year.
However, he says his latest efforts rank as his best so far, and will take some topping in 2016 – even though the year was only a few hours old when took them.
He said: "I was extremely pleased.
"I have photos from Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury but they were from a distance, this was from literally 15 to 20 yards away."
Mr Preston said he and his family are National Trust members and regular visitors to Attingham Park, although he does not always take his camera with him.
Luckily, on this occasion he did.
He said: "It is one of those things where you go to Attingham Park just for the day out not really expecting anything, I do not even normally take my camera."
