Jeremy Clarkson foots the bill as Hawkstone Farmers Choir party until 5am after Britain's Got Talent victory

The Hawkstone Farmers Choir made television history on Saturday evening, claiming victory in the Britain's Got Talent final and becoming the first choir ever to take the top prize in the ITV competition's history.

The group of agricultural workers, founded by Jeremy Clarkson, secured the £250,000 prize through the public vote, beating runners-up Celestial and third-placed Anastasiia and Salsa.

Their triumph also secured a coveted performance slot at this year's Royal Variety Performance before the King.

The choir performed their original song This Is Home during the final, dedicating their win to struggling farmers across the country.

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Mr Clarkson was visibly overcome with emotion as the results were announced, erupting into cheers when the choir was declared the winner.

Following the live broadcast, the victorious farmers headed to a pub in Hammersmith where celebrations continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.

Mr Clarkson generously covered the bar tab for the entire group, with choir member Andy Owens telling The Mirror: "As you can imagine, a whole load of farmers and their families and free beer go very well together!"

Judge Amanda Holden, who had awarded the choir her Golden Buzzer earlier in the series, joined the festivities alongside runners-up Celestial.

Choir member Flo Dawes, who runs a dressage yard in Gloucestershire with her mother Ali, described the evening: "We got our own speaker and we were singing our own songs and doing karaoke as well, we just had the most amazing time."

Many choir members stayed up until 4am or 5am, with Mr Owens admitting the sun was rising when he finally retired.

Both Ms Holden and Mr Clarkson were emotional during the pub gathering, according to Ali Dawes, who said the pair were "quite teary" throughout the celebrations.

"Everybody was just crying and laughing. It was joyous," she recalled.

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Mr Owens, a farmer himself, spoke of the weight of responsibility the choir felt representing their industry.

"It was mindblowing. We never expected to win.

"Being able to share our message was all we wanted - but this is amazing," he said.

The victory carried particular significance given the mental health challenges facing British agriculture.

"Three lives are lost a week in our industry, so there was a lot of responsibility, the stakes felt very high.

"I was just in floods of tears," Mr Owens explained.

The choir's journey began unexpectedly, having originally come together for an advertising campaign promoting Mr Clarkson's Cotswolds-based brewing company.

Choir member Ben Brooke reflected on social media: "A year ago, most of us were complete strangers brought together for what was meant to be a beer advert.

"None of us could ever have imagined where that one decision would lead."

Looking ahead to their Royal Variety Performance, Ms Dawes expressed particular excitement about appearing before the monarch.

"He's such an advocate for farming and for rural people.

"I think it's just amazing that we get to have that opportunity to perform in front of someone that shares that same passion as us," she said.

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