The Chesterfield trio had the tricky task of playing first at the contest's grand final on Monday night.

But Ben Miles, Richard Moore and Simon Gray quickly warmed up the crowd at Chesterfield's Winding Wheel with some blistering hard rock.

Hundreds of music fans had gathered in Chesterfield to see which of the cream of local acts would lift the crown and take over from last year's winners, The Culture Thieves.

The five other finalists, Hard Luck Cafe, What If We Were Superheroes, CTRL, The Dismissive Attack and Educatables made it very difficult for the judges to pick an overall winner.

But in the end they awarded the crown and the kudos to Valve for their blistering and passionate performance.

Country folk-rockers Hard Luck Cafe claimed the runners-up spot — with What If We Were Superheroes taking third place.

Contest co-organiser Phil Bramley said the talent on display was a testament to north Derbyshire's live music scene.

"Any one of the six finalists would have made a worthy winner," he added.

PRIZE GUYS:

Our bands fought it out for glory and honour, as well as some tasty prizes put up by generous local businesses, including:

A recording session at The Foundry Studios, Chesterfield.

A slot on the Bearded Theory Music Festival.

Professional photoshoot courtesy of the Derbyshire Times.

A gig slot at Sheffield's acclaimed Plug venue.

A support slot at the Town Mill, Mansfield.

Free live recording session with The Attic Studio, Sheffield.

£5m public liability insurance cover from Musicians Insurance Services, based in Matlock.