A 12-year-old boy from Teddington, Woody, is featured in this year's Portrait of Britain Awards.

Portrait of Britain is an annual British portrait photography award run by the British Journal of Photography.

Its subject is the diversity of British people. The 100 winning portraits are displayed on JCDecaux's digital screens across Britain throughout the month of January.

Woody is a huge fan of Brentwood FC and has Down Syndrome, so he meets the awards' 'diversity' criteria.

The image of Woody, which was chosen for the award, is by photographer Rory Langdon Down, who's great, great-grandfather was Dr John Langdon Down, who first classified Down's Syndrome in 1862.

This portrait of Woody is a winner of this year's Portrait of Britain Awards (Credit: Rory Langdon Down)

Speaking about how she met Rory, Woody's mum and Park Lane Stable's owner, Natalie O'Rourke, told Teddington Nub: "Last year, we [her and Woody] were really lucky because we had a chance meeting with Rory.

"I met him in Croydon at a football event and we were chatting, and he said, 'oh, you might be interested in what my name is, but people don't normally care', but I asked him his name and he told me, explaining that his great, great grandfather classified Down Syndrome.

"So, I was like, 'oh my God, that's so exciting', and I was really blown away to meet a direct descendant of Dr Langdon Down.

"So, we got chatting and he got on really well with Woody, and then he asked if he could get some photos of Woody, and I agreed."

Natalie and Rory kept in contact via Instagram where Rory asked if he could enter the Portrait of Britain Awards with a photo of Woody "and then they won," Natalie said.

 "I'm so happy for Rory, obviously, to get that recognition, but I'm also really happy that people all around the country are seeing a picture of somebody with Down syndrome.

"I'm also happy just to get the conversation going about Down Syndrome and just creating that awareness, because there's still a lot of of stigma attached to it, and there's still a lot of misconceptions, unfortunately.

"And there's a lot of fear, I think, from people that that maybe get pregnant and get a diagnosis. There's a lot of fear around that.

"So, anything we can do really to sort of raise awareness and in a positive way."

Woody is wearing a Brentford FC football shirt in the winning portrait, which Natalie is "really happy about".

She said: It's just a really, really, really lovely surprise for the new year because it's just from a chance meeting that that happened, which is delightful."

Speaking about when she and Woody first saw the photo up in public, Natalie told Teddington Nub: "We went to London with one of Woody's mates, and we were waiting.

"We were looking at all the billboards, and we were waiting to see the picture, because the picture changes and you have to wait.

"Then we saw his picture and he was leaping up and down with excitement and really, really thrilled, really, really excited and really delighted.

Natalie and Woody saw Woody's picture up on a JCDecaux's digital screen in London (Credit: Natalie O'Rourke)

In an exclusive interview with Teddington Nub, Rory shared his delight in winning the award, saying: "Woody and I met whilst filming a football advertising campaign last summer.

"He was the talent in front of the camera, me very much behind the camera. We chatted over lunch with his mum Natalie and discovered that amongst many other interests, Woody attends classes with the Down's Syndrome Association at the Langdon Down Centre in Teddington which is on the site of the former Normansfield Hospital where my great great grandfather, Dr John Langdon Down, did his pioneering work in discovering what later became known as Down's Syndrome. 

"Woody and I chatted football - he's a huge Brentford fan and plays football for the Brentford Penguins - and gaming and we clicked quickly having a lovely day. Earlier in the day I'd seen the location for the portrait of Woody so after lunch I asked if we could pop into that courtyard where I'd set up the chair for Woody and make a photograph together. It was taken on a medium format film camera and the resulting image shows just a fleeting moment in our interaction.

"It's wonderful that it has now been selected as a winner of Portrait of Britain and I'm excited to see it across the country on digital screens as well as in print in the press and the accompanying book."