An amateur nature photographer captured an epic battle between two birds in his Norfolk garden.

The snapper, whose Twitter handle is Graeme@Churchillcroc, spotted a sparrow hawk which downed a great spotted woodpecker in Thursford.

It was just about to eat it, but somehow the bird escaped.

He said on social media: β€œ#Thursford #NorthNorfolk Raw Nature! This great spotted woodpecker was lucky. She managed to escape the clutches of this male sparrowhawk in our garden.

β€œHe flew off around the side of the bungalow with her but I think he struggled with the weight and flapping, as she flew out and up into a tree whilst he went in a different direction. She stayed there recovering for about 15 minutes before flying away.”