BOLTON barbershop group, Cottontown Chorus, has taken first place at the inaugural Manchester Amateur Choral Competition - and you can listen to them here.

The 50-strong choir competed against 14 others, beating the famous Saddleworth male choir to the top spot.

The Cottontown Chorus has won the three of the competitions it has entered in the past three months.

In October, it won the Irish international Barbershop competition in Sligo.

And earlier this month it was crowned BBC Radio 3’s adult choir of the year at a competition in Liverpool.

The group, which rehearses at Canon Slade School in Bradshaw , must now battle it out against other category finalists for the overall title of best choir at the Royal Festival Hall in London on December 7.