Ben Haenow. Pic: X Factor

Croydon’s X Factor winner Ben Haenow has won the battle for this year’s Christmas number one.

The 29-year-old’s single Something I Need had combined chart sales of over 214,000 and is now the second-fastest selling single of the year, behind Band Aid 30’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?, which shifted nearly 313,000 copies in its first week back in November.

But Band Aid 30’s revamped charity hit, once considered a strong bet for the Christmas number one, is down at number 17 in the Official Singles Chart.

Haenow, a former van driver from Croydon, triumphed over the likes of Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk FT Bruno Mars at number two, The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York FT Kirsty MacColl at number 11 and last minute surprise contender, The Wealdstone Raider’s Got No Fans at number five.

Haenow returned to Croydon for his last public performance before taking the X Factor crown last weekend.

Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, Haenow said: “To have even been in the running for Christmas number one against some of the names that were in the race, and then to have actually won is incredible. It’s an incredible end to my year.

“I’m gonna go and have a few good drinks with my mates … definitely more than a few good drinks … to really celebrate! I’m absolutely shocked, I can’t believe it.”

For the first time in the Christmas number one race, it is not just what people have been buying and downloading that counts towards the final tally, but audio streams from services such as Spotify, Deezer and O2Tracks were also counted.

Simon Cowell later tweeted his congratulations to Haenow, saying: “Many congrats Ben on being number one.”