A Carshalton photographer’s abstract photo of a spiral staircase has won a top prize at a prestigious awards ceremony.

John Pinder used a Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone to capture the image of a half spiral which was later submitted to the Architectural Photography Awards for 2018.

He was announced as one of two winners of the mobile category, which was added this year, at the World Architecture Festival Gala on November 30 alongside He Zhenhuan from China.

The pair won $250 (£196) as Mr Pinder’s entry won via public vote after entries were submitted via the competition website.

Meanwhile the overall winner was Pawel Paniczko from Stalybridge, in Greater Manchester, as he landed a $3,000 (£2,359) cash prize.

His shot of the Long Museum in West Bund, Shanghai, China, impressed in the exterior category while his entries in the portfolio categories were named as winners as well.

There were more than 1,200 submissions for this year’s awards in four main categories – exterior, interior, sense of place and buildings in use – before they were whittled down to a 20-image shortlist.