A TALENTED musician from Colchester is battling to be named Britain’s best busker.

Polly Haynes, who play jazz-inspired tunes with themes of love, loss and current affairs has entered the country’s biggest street music competition called Gigs, which is run in the capital by the mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

Entrants from across the UK get the opportunity to perform at a range of iconic locations and gain valuable experience of playing in public.

Exciting prizes include a license to busk on the London Underground, a busking trip to Paris, recording time at a top professional studio and a chance to perform at a VIP tent at Glastonbury.

Polly often uses tales of her life in Colchester in her music and has made a name for herself on the Colchester music scene with indie group Newton’s Apple and the Polly Violet Collective, becoming known for her powerful voice and acoustic guitar skills.

The competition is being used to support Mr Khan’s London is Open campaign which aims to spread the message the city remains united, full of creativity and open for business.

He said: “Growing London’s cultural sector is one of my core priorities as mayor and I’m delighted to see fresh busking talent hitting the streets of the capital this summer.

“It is so important that we support our next generation of stars and Gigs is a great way to entertain Londoners at some of the city’s most iconic locations, bring people together, and to highlight to people across London and the globe London is Open.”

Gigs has already helped kick start the careers of many musicians and bands.

Singer-songwriter Robbie Boyd is now touring around the world and recently released his first album while James Riley is building a following playing gigs across America.

Tom Butler picked up the Gigs 2014 song-writing prize sponsored by PRS for Music, and played at last year’s Glastonbury Festival.

Another prize winner Charlotte Campbell has released an album which is out now, and the King’s Parade were spotted in Paris where they were playing as part of their prize and now regularly tour in both France and Germany.

Performances will take place over the next two weeks across the city at top locations, including St Paul’s Cathedral, before a grand final at Westfields in Stratford on September 4.

To vote for Polly visit london.gov.uk/gigs