A special effects artist from Aberystwyth has won an Oscar for his work on ‘Dune: Part Two’.

Rhys Salcombe is part of a team who picked up the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the Hollywood awards ceremony on Monday, 3 March.

Just last month, on 16 February, the 38-year-old former Ysgol Penglais pupil also won a BAFTA award for Best Special Visual Effects for the same film with team mates Paul Lambert, Stephen James and Gerd Nefzer.

In his BAFTA acceptance speech Rhys described the award as ‘an enormous privilege’ and paid tribute to the legions of unsung artists who had worked on the film behind the scenes.

“There are four of us up here on stage,” he told the audience at London’s Festival Hall, “but collectively we are representing the work of hundreds, if not a few thousand other people, so my heartfelt thanks go to all of them.”

As well as his work on ‘Dune: Part Two’, Rhys is also known for adding his expertise to many other films, including ‘Blade Runner 2049 in 2017, ‘Star Trek Beyond’ in 2016, ‘Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, 2015 and ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, 2015.

Having left school in Aberystwyth, Rhys graduated from Swansea Institute before moving to London and joining special effects company Double Negative where he met his partner, Anna.

The couple, who have two young children, have lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the past decade.

Speaking to the BBC, Rhys said his passion for film developed in the beautiful landscape of Ceredigion.

Commenting on the Oscar win, he said the whole experience had been a "bit of a blur" and his achievement was yet to fully sink in.

He said it was "special" to represent the team on stage along with three of his colleagues.