A 23-year-old photographer from London has won this year?s Times/Tabasco Young Photographer of the Year Award ? the most hotly fought contest in the competition?s history.

Clara Molden from New Cross won this year?s battle, earning her a six-month paid contract on The Times newspaper as a news and features photojournalist.

This year?s competition attracted the strongest set of entrants yet according to organisers who were forced to set an extra task of photographing a news event before deciding on the winner. Clara captured an image of a nun mourning the death of Pope John Paul the Second.

?Clara?s work was exceptional and her passion for photography was unrelenting,? said The Times picture editor Paul Sanders.

Picture credit: Clara Molden