St Albans photographer and plane spotter, Tim Easter, had the best view in the house last week thanks to a visit to Heathrow Airport’s air traffic control tower.

The 34-year-old was the runner up in a photography competition staged by the airport and air traffic control company, NATS.

His prize saw him take a behind the scenes tour of the state of the art facility with the chance to then take photos from the top of the 87 metre-high tower.

Mr Easter said: "It’s a brilliant vantage point and a view that very few people ever get to have, so I’ve been able to take some very special photographs. It’s also been a huge privilege to see the controllers at work making sure the airport runs smoothly."

The NATS controllers at Heathrow orchestrate 1,350 take offs or landings everyday, making it the busiest dual runway airport anywhere in the world.

Tim met David Marshall, NATS Head of ATC Training at Heathrow, who as well as being a controller himself has responsibility for nurturing the next generation of talent.

Mr Marshall added: "To some, air traffic control can be a bit of a mystery, so it’s always great to be able to show people what we do. Tim is an obvious lover of aviation and it was a pleasure to have him in the tower."