Jackie O'Halloran, lead member for recreation on Peel Commissioners, judged the entries from the last year.

She said: 'The standard was very high and I had a shortlist of 10 and any one of them would have been a worthy winner.'

Peel was visited by a spectacular sea mist in June this year and a number of photographers submitted their photos of it, but Jackie awarded the £50 top prize to Ian Wallace, of Peel, for his image of Peel Castle in the mist.

Second prize went to John Kerruish, of Peel, for his photograph capturing the joy and pain of the Peel New Year's dip. Peel Online also thanked John for sending regular photographic updates of the marina development that was completed this year and are displayed on the website.

Third prize for a lovely photo of a beautiful boat with the castle behind went to Tony Faragher, of Peel.

All entrants were thanked for helping Peel Online show 'the rest of the world what a beautiful place Peel is to live'.

Entries are now open for the 2010 competition — send them to photos@peelonline.net and see the website for the full rules.

Peel Online was set up by Peel Commissioners six years ago as a resource for the local community, the rest of the Island and visitors to Peel. It has information on events in Peel, local businesses and charities as well as information about the commissioners and their business. There are separate sections for the Ward Library and the Leece Museum, and links to numerous other Peel websites.

Visits to Peel Online increased by 15 per cent over the last year with more than 55,000 people visiting the site, viewing more than 133,000 pages. The vast majority of visits were from the Isle of Man and the UK, however visits came from 115 different countries in 2009.