KEEN photographer Alix Ritchie got the royal seal of approval from the Prince of Wales for his expert camera work which he manages despite living with a rare degenerative condition.

The King's Academy student took first prize in the Wildlife and Flowers section of the competition which was designed to highlight life in and around Hemlington Lake.

Alix also took second place in the People and Recreation section with a picture of a sculpture of mushrooms.

Now 18, he was diagnosed with juvenile Huntington's disease when he was 11. The condition affects balance, speech, short term memory and swallowing food and drinks and is incurable.

The Prince of Wales congratulated him adding: "Your picture is very good indeed."

Alix captured the image of two insects in foliage on his compact digital camera. His keen interest in photography helps him cope with his condition and the walls of his school at Coulby Newham are covered in his images.

"Meeting Prince Charles was fantastic and I am glad he liked my picture," he said. His mum Fiona added: "Alix has met so many celebrities and now royalty. We couldn't believe it when we received a letter out of the blue saying we were going to meet the prince and Alix was so excited he was shaking."

King's Academy house manager Sue Lawrence takes Alix on his photographic expeditions all over the North-East and he has built up a collection of hundreds of images.

She said: "He really does love taking pictures and even though he is due to leave school this year we are looking at him coming back in to do some more photography."

Staff at Hemlington Lake have also asked him for more images of the site which they will use to decorate their walls.

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