A PHOTOGRAPH of a helicopter being loaded on to a transport plane at RAF Brize Norton has been named one of the best of the year in an RAF contest.

Senior Aircraftman Neil Chapman took the picture of the Merlin helicopter, from RAF Benson, near Wallingford, being loaded on to a Boeing C-17 Globemaster at the west Oxfordshire air station.

The RAF’s six-strong fleet of C-17s is based at Brize Norton and operated by 99 Squadron.

SAC Chapman’s picture took first place in the equipment category of the annual RAF Photographic Competition, which is now in its 20th year.