Liam crowned the first Acoustic Idol

His breath-taking and heart-breaking performance on Thursday night was enough to see him take the title as the area’s best unplugged act.

But he was run close all the way by duo The Natterjacks, whose barnstorming guitar and banjo licks had the room jumping and put a smile on every face.

The final was the culmination of ten weeks of heats and play-off contests held at the Sun.

It saw Starscreen, Jamie Heawood, Dan Aspinall and Jareth Brownhill join Liam Walker and The Natterjacks to battle it out in the grand final.

Eventually, the contest came down to a single-song showdown between Liam and The Natterjacks, in a £1,000 shoot out as they battled for the first-prize cash jackpot.

And the decision could not have been tighter, with the judging panel admitting it was a really tough choice to separate the acts.

But is was Liam’s spellbinding delivery that saw him just shade the contest and claim the cash.

Organiser Marv White said: “ Words can’t describe how amazing the final was. Well done to all the acts that played and most of all well done to our very own acoustic idol, Liam Walker.

“What a truly great competition we’ve had.”