A 13-year-old schoolboy has been crowned the winner of a national competition to find the UK’s best young choir singer, taking home a trophy and £500 worth of singing lessons.

Luke McWatters, from Kentish Town, beat three other male finalists to win the boys’ category of the Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year Competition on Thursday (October 31) at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square.

Luke, who lives in Torriano Avenue with his parents, has sung with the Temple Choir at Temple Church in the City of London since he was six-years-old and always aspired to win the prestigious competition.

The former Torriano Infants’ and Junior School pupil said: “I’ve wanted this for a long time so it is great. I really enjoyed the final and wasn’t nervous. All the practice came off.”

As joint winner of the competition with 11-year-old Laura Barraclough from Hertfordshire, Luke will now get the chance to sing live on BBC TV and radio, as well as getting a trophy and £500 worth of lessons with a singing coach.

His mother Vanora Bennett, 51, said there were six family members clutching each others’ hands so their knuckles turned white on the evening of the final.

She said: “We were so nervous, I don’t know why Luke wasn’t! But we needn’t have worried as he sang beautifully.

“It has been his ambition for as long as I can remember. I know it’s a cliché to say that dreams come true but in this case, they really did.”