A YOUNG photographer has travelled to Turkey with the England amputee football team to capture the action during the side's heroic battle to the final of the European Amputee Football Championships.

Lloyd Jones, from Orford, has been volunteering with the national amputee football team since February this year.

Earlier this month, he visited Turkey with the squad for the 2017 European Amputee Football Championships.

England made it to the final of the competition, taking on the host nation in front of more than 40,000 people at Vodafone Park - the home of Turkish Super Lig giants Besiktas - in a dramatic climax to the tournament.

The Three Lions, managed by former Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers boss Owen Coyle's son Owen Coyle jr, lost 2-1 to Turkey after a dramatic last minute goal confined them to defeat.

And Lloyd was on hand to capture all of the drama and the devastation during his 10 days in eastern Europe.

The 21-year-old said: "I've been working with the team since February this year - they have one or two training sessions per month, so I just volunteered to go down and I've been going ever since.

"They were playing in front of 10 to 20 fans for most of their games during the tournament and the final was supposed to be in front of a crowd of about 50 people.

"But they decided to move the game to Besiktas' stadium and they ended up playing in front of 42,000 people.

"It was such a brilliant experience and I couldn't believe how many people were there.

"You can't really put into words how good it was."

Lloyd has been a photographer for the past five years, when he began studying the art of taking pictures at Priestley College.

His visit to Turkey was not the first time his burgeoning career behind the lens has taken him overseas for sporting reasons.

Earlier this year, he accompanied the England amputee squad as they won a European championships warm-up tournament in Poland.

The former Beamont Collegiate Academy student also works as a photographer for Wrexham FC, travelling with the Dragons for a pre-season friendly in Poland this summer.

Lloyd and members of the England amputee team had to raise thousands of pounds in order to fund their trip to take part in the tournament.

He added: "Whereas other disability teams do receive help through funding, the amputee football team don't get any funding from the FA so they have to raise all their own money.

"The players on the outfield have one leg and play on crutches, and then the goalkeepers only have one arm.

"They're truly inspiring and they played brilliantly throughout the tournament."