Comics Andy Zaltzman, Owen O’Neill and The 4 Noels are among the winners of the annual ‘spirit of the Fringe’ awards handed  out by Edinburgh veteran Mervyn Stutter.

Zaltzman received his award after rewriting his show at the last minute when comedy partner John Oliver pulled out of their planned show when he was offered a job on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in New York.

O’Neill, who has been performing at the Fringe since 1985, won for his poetry and stand-up show Owen O'Neill Is A  ***t And So Is Seamus Heaney, while the 4 Noels won for their physical comedy show Doom Riders.

Other winners included Neil Edmond, for his idea of conducting market research around the city, based on audience suggestions, and director Cal McCrystal who worked on Hello Dalai and Spymonkey’s Cooped.

The list was completed by musical acts Women With Standards and Nick and Phil Moriaty.

Stutter has been handing out the awards since 1992.

Meanwhile, Boothby Graffoe has announced his shortlist for his Breaking Down The Barriers Of Comedy Award. They are:

• Andy Zaltzman for 70 minutes of Unbridled Afternoon
• Kevin McAleer for Chalk and Cheese”
• Tanroh Ishida for Kyogen Raw and Uncooked.
• Voodoo Vaudeville for Skin Of The Moon.
• Charlie Pickering for Auto
• Kate Copstick for Christ’s Sake!

The winner is always Simon Munnery.