Agony for Briton in US talent final

THE shy British schoolgirl who was tipped to wow the US by winning America’s Got Talent finished a disappointed sixth in last night’s final.

Singing sensation Courtney Hadwin, 14, pictured, had been compared to Tina Turner and Janis Joplin as she stormed to the last stage of the Simon Cowell show.

But her performance of Joplin’s Piece of My Heart fell short, with magician Shin Lim taking the top prize.

The teenager’s disappointment at missing out on the $1million (£750,000) prize money is unlikely to last long, however, as she has been promised a lucrative record deal and told ‘this is just the beginning’ by host Tyra Banks.

She will now leave Los Angeles and return to her family’s terraced house in Hesleden, County Durham. Her mother Annmarie, 31, who stayed at home to look after Courtney’s siblings, said: ‘I could not be prouder of her.’