The duo received the honour from the Independent Artist Company, for their song Mercy, which won best song in the easy listening/soft rock genre.

The award puts Maria and Paul in good company, as another winner was Pete Townshend, of The Who, who won best song for Just Breathe, which he wrote with Rachel Fuller.

Maria and Paul are currently working on songs for their new album, Boneyard, which follows on from last year's Treebone album.

Inspired by a newspaper article on the history of travelling circuses, they have written a spoken word piece, entitled The Ballad Of Mary Ann Bones, whose protagonist campaigned against the use of wild animals in travelling circuses.

Maria said: "This topic is very much in the public eye at the moment, with a bill being read in UK parliament that may end the use of wild animals as entertainment in the circus.

"We have received hundreds of e-mails and letters from supporters of our music all over the globe. People are especially interested in issues of animal welfare that we bring to attention in our songwriting."

It's been a particularly busy period for Maria and Paul.
They are currently working on a song about the seal cull in Canada.

The duo also recently hosted an episode of a blues and jazz podcast, where they interviewed their friend, the legendary Texas Jake Lee, known as the King Of Slide.

And in January this year they were interviewed by BBC Radio Cambridgeshire and had four of their songs played, which provoked a great response.

More details about their work, to buy the album and to stay updated on Maria, visit www.mariadaines.com