Benjamin Clementine has been announced as the winner of the Mercury Prize, the UK's most prestigious music award.

The 25-year-old's debut album At Least For Now beat competition from the likes of Florence + The Machine, Wolf Alice and Supergrass star Gaz Coombes.

As he accepted the 20,000 pounds prize, around 30,000 US dollars at a ceremony in London, the singer and pianist broke into tears and dedicated the win to those killed in last week's Paris terror attacks.

He said the attacks left him feeling "very sad" and "heartbroken".

Clementine was raised in north London but moved to Paris in his 20s, busking on the Metro before earning a music contract.

The Mercury Prize judging panel called Clementine's debut album "dramatic, intimate and pulsatingly original" and hailed him as "a remarkable new pianist and singer".

Also among the 12 acts nominated were Ghostpoet, Scottish composer C Duncan, punk duo Slaves, Zimbabwean-born Eska and Soak, and 19-year-old Belfast-born Bridie Monds-Watson.

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