A young nature enthusiast has been recognised for his contribution to the Ryton Pools Country Park.

Eleven-year-old Arthur has received the very first Ryton Pools Nature Hero award.

The ranger team launched the annual awards to celebrate the individuals and groups who support the park and its wildlife.

Arthur was chosen as the first recipient after showing an astonishing level of knowledge, care and passion for the natural world at Ryton Pools, particularly around the Pagets Pool nature reserve.

Because of his passion and interest, the team granted Arthur special permission to access Pagets Pool, which is closed to the general public due to its sensitive habitats.

Through his careful observations, encyclopaedic knowledge and clever use of camera traps, Arthur has helped enhance the team's understanding of how Pagets Pool operates biologically.

His discoveries are revealing, in finer detail, the vital importance of the site, helping the team develop how they manage its habitats to best protect the wildlife.

Arthur's mum, Lol, shared: "Arthur spends all his time immersed in nature - exploring it, reading about it, drawing it, and watching documentaries.

"When he asked for a camera trap for Christmas, it naturally led to figuring out the best place to set it up - somewhere that would capture a variety of wildlife while keeping the equipment safe.

"Being able to do this at Pagets Pool has meant the world to Arthur. Each visit to set up or collect the camera has given him the chance to explore an area that has become incredibly special to him. It's a place where he can truly relax and lose himself in his passion for the natural world.

"He decided to start a Pagets Pool journal where he is documenting what he sees there and also how the place makes him feel.

"It is really quite lovely watching him filling it out and seeing a glimpse of hopefully a future of him working as a wildlife researcher or something similar."

The fine sandy habitats found at Pagets Pool, a legacy of former industrial sand extraction, are home to locally and nationally scarce species of bee, moth, butterfly and invertebrate.

The site also supports significant populations of protected Great Crested Newts, along with rarely seen mammals including water shrews, badgers and weasels.

Arthur's trail camera traps have revealed a wide range of species not usually seen on site.

They have captured superb footage of more common mammals and birds, such as foxes, rabbits and pigeons, as well as much rarer wildlife.

During the time he has been setting up his camera trap, Arthur has recorded a polecat, a relative of stoats and weasels, as well as otters and, very recently, the elusive water rail. This shy and rarely seen bird is the first recorded sighting of its kind at Ryton Pools.

Access to Pagets Pool has also allowed Arthur to experience some of the big wildlife spectacles of the year, most notably the mass emergence of toadlets and froglets in late spring, when the ground becomes covered in miniature migrating amphibians.

Arthur shared his view of what Pagets Pool means to him: "Going into Pagets Pool is like going into another world.

"It makes me feel a mixture of calm (as it's so relaxing) but equally excited (because I don't know what I am going to see).

"I have seen so many living things there that I never know what to expect when I go and I could spend all my time there.

"I love recording what I have seen by writing and drawing as well as taking photographs and using my camera trap. I think of it as a hidden paradise of wildlife."