A KEEN photographer has produced a wildlife and walking guide after being inspired by his surroundings on his daily walks.

John Buxton, 62, spends several hours each day walking the family dog around his home village of Hurworth and has taken thousands of pictures of the wide variety of wildlife that visits the area.

Instead of leaving the images on his computer, he decided to create a booklet to highlight the biodiversity of the area and the number of walking routes available around Hurworth.

He said: “All the pictures were taken in the last year and a half or so, since I retired and started walking the dog every day. I’ve had a lifelong love of photography and when I retired I promised myself I would go out walking more and take pictures of the wildlife we have in the area.

“I was quite surprised at the variety of wildlife we have around the village – I knew there was plenty to be found, but the sheer number of birds and dragonflies species was a surprise.

“I can take up to 400 photos in one day and I decided to create the booklet because I wanted to do something useful with them and I thought I could write something that would help people get to know the local area and what is out there.”

Mr Buxton’s booklet, Wildlife and Walking in Hurworth, is on sale for £5 at Croft News and the Rockliffe Pharmacy.

All profits will go to International Humanity UK, which supports a Sri Lankan village destroyed in the 2004 tsunami.