THE winner of our Back The Busker campaign has been revealed.

You voted in your hundreds to decide who deserved to be crowned the best busker.

The Argus filmed the hopefuls and handed over the final decision to you, the reader.

And the winner is...Vadim Petrov, who was chosen for his easy-listening piano ballads.

Victorious Vadim told The Argus: “It’s a great feeling.

“I’m really looking forward to getting into the studio and working on something.”

He also told The Argus that his girlfriend would be over the moon for him.

Vadim said: “She has been busking as well but she missed out on the competition. But maybe it’s good because she would have been competition for me.”

It was the support of those around him that spurred Vadim on to win; we reported half-way through the contest that Vadim was in second place.

Vadim said: “When I found out I was second, my friends realised I was so close and every vote mattered.

“It was only then that I felt it really could happen.”

Vadim has won a day at Yellow Fish Studios, which is based in Brighton, and has the use of experienced engineers to bring his vision to life.

He said: “I checked out the studio and they have a grand piano, which will really add another dimension to the song.”

He is thinking of laying a beat over the piano track and has designs on creating a “dubstep piano” song.

Dan Crook, of Yellow Fish, said: “The recording itself will be radio-ready as it were so it provides everything needed in a demanding market.

“It’s important to have a good quality recording of oneself – it’s easy to get lost otherwise.”

The studio has seen artists as diverse as Roger Daltry, Chris De Burgh, Arthur Brown and Rob Lord through the door.

Mr Crook added: “We get a wide variety of people coming in – everything from busker-style singer-songwriters all the way up to big rock bands and classical musicians.

“Buskers represent something great because it shows people still care and are passionate about music. It’s great to show the industry is still thriving in that sense.”

Mum: ‘His talent was always in his fingers’

As Vadim was growing up, his mother always said the talent was “in his fingers”.

He said his mother, also a pianist, would be thrilled to hear he had won.

Vadim grew up in Latvia, in a small wooded town called Ogre (about the size of Burgess Hill), near the capital city of Riga.

He said: “It’s a beautiful place and it inspired me with its calm, relaxing atmosphere.”

He grew up with his father, who worked in construction, and his mother, a piano teacher.

The 26-year-old said: “My mum made sure I was doing things right. It was a good base to build on.

“She said, ‘It’s in your fingers and it’s not going to go away.’ “And after I came to England I realised it was still in my fingers.

“She will be very happy to hear I have won and I’m sure all the musical schools will know about it because I came from a small town and it’s a big thing that I’m in England.”

Now living in Cheltenham Place, Brighton, Vadim studied piano at a local music school from the age of four.

In 2003 he came fourth in the National Improvisation Contest of Latvia.

After graduating from music school, Vadim continued his aspirations by taking music production courses and writing songs and solo, choral and hymnal pieces on request.

In 2009 he came to England and pursued songwriting studies at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music (BIMM).

During his studies Vadim began writing for electro music producers and later appeared as a producer on a few releases by Finnish singer Hannis.

After graduating from BIMM, Vadim returned to his passion for playing piano, joining a function band and playing as a keyboardist on a cruise ship.

On the same cruise he volunteered to play a grand piano in the restaurant and realised he had what it took to play to a crowd.

When he returned, he started busking earlier this year, which was when The Argus stumbled across him playing in the street.

Vadim said: “The stuff I play is simpler than the more complicated classical pieces but I like the emotion in them.

“When I’m performing with the piano I really want to feel sounds rather than just playing them.”

He plays piano from Monday to Friday but, to make ends meet, works for a care agency at the weekends.

His favourite place to work is at the Martlets Hospice in Hove.

Vadim said: “You get good feedback and help people, and it’s a good cause.”

One of his songs inspired by his work in care is called It’s Gonna Be All Right.

Vadim said: “There are lots of emotions involved in care work – I’m a caring person.”

It was this tune that received an honourable mention in The International CD Baby Songwriting competition in 2012. A year later he accompanied local singer Chloe Paige on a radio station in Uckfield to help his cause.

Vadim’s hospice colleagues have also helped him in ways he wasn’t even aware of initially.

He said: “They know I’m a musician. Sometimes they see me busking and are very surprised when they see me.

“They really supported me by printing posters to get people to vote for me. I didn’t know about it until one day I went into work and saw the posters. They will be very happy when they find out I won.”