BUDDING photographer Lucy Gracethorne got plenty of close-ups on a special day at the zoo as the prize for winning a competition run by The Argus.

The 12-year-old was the winner of the under 16s category in the One Summer’s Day competition, held to highlight all the best things about the season.

Lucy’s prize-winning shot was of a fox cub sitting on a roof and watching a seagull in her neighbour’s garden and fittingly she won a photography day at Drusillas Park zoo, near Alfriston.

She worked alongside the zoo’s resident animal photographer Ian Standivan and went behind the scenes and inside the enclosures of some of Drusillas’ most popular animals.

They included lemurs, penguins, prairie dogs, gibbons, flamingos, bats, sloths and raccoons.

Lucy, from Brighton, said: “It was really good. The photographer gave me a lot of tips. I was not too good with the technical things because I tend to just take photos for fun but what he said was really helpful.

“I’d like to keep it going now and take even more.”

Lucy’s mum Claire, who went with her on the day, said: “It’s been really interesting and they treated her really well.

“I lost count of how many photos she took but we got on to a second camera. It was a lot of fun.

“It was great to get so close to some of the animals. We helped with feeding some of them as well which was great.

“We really enjoyed the day and would like to say thanks to everyone who organised it.”

A Drusillas spokeswoman said: “Lucy’s winning photograph really impressed us here at Drusillas, and we hope she had a brilliant time at our ever-popular Photography Day experience on Sunday.

“Being at such close quarters with our fascinating animals will have no doubt given her plenty of opportunities to capture more amazing animal moments – we can’t wait to see her photos.”