Suffolk singer Ed Sheeran – who won Norwich's Next Big Thing contest in 2008 – has been named British artist of the year in the inaugural BBC Music Awards, beating acts such as David Bowie, Jungle and Elbow.
The event staged at Earls Court in London was designed to be a celebration of the best music of the past year, and saw USA star Pharrell Williams named international artist of the year.
The two-hour show - screened live on BBC1 – saw the audience chanting along to Sheeran's chart-topping hit Sing, with the crowd still singing as he exited the stage after performing solo.
Collecting his trophy from Sir Tom Jones, the 23-year-old from Franlingham said he wanted to say 'a massive thank you to everyone who has bought a record, bought a ticket, streamed on YouTube, done anything, listened to my music'.
He went on: 'I always thought my career would stop at one album, so knowing my career is longer than one album is the highlight.'
Other artists who played at the event - which saw Chris Evans presenting alongside Cotton - included Paloma Faith and George Ezra.
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