Richard Ottaway, MP for Croydon South, has won a global award for his groundbreaking research into population growth.

The long-serving Conservative politician scooped the gong for Best Essay at the 2012 Global Media Awards.

He won the honour for Sex, Ideology and Religion: 10 Myths About World Population Growth, which he co-authored with research assistant Genevieve Hutchinson, which challenges common misconceptions about family planning and population growth.

It is his second piece of research into the area.

Mr Ottaway said: "I am thrilled and humbled to have received this award that recognises important contributions to the debate about global population growth.

"It’s an area of research that has occupied me for the past 20 years and it is immensely rewarding to know that my work is making an impact.

"With the world’s population figures reaching the seven billion mark – the debate about the consequences of continued growth at this rate is more relevant now than ever before."

Mr Ottaway was one of seven winners at the awards, which have been dished out annually by the Population Institute for the last 33 years.