POP hunk James Blunt routed a masked raider — by braining him with a music award he had just collected.The singer, 30, grabbed the gong after he woke up to discover the robber in his hotel room at 5am.

Ex-Army captain James, who had won Best Newcomer at the French NRJ Radio awards, smashed him over the head with it.

He said yesterday: “It’s a big, solid lump, so I picked it up and whacked him. He then threw himself off the balcony and ran away.”

James, who had 2005’s top-selling album with Back To Bedlam, was in Cannes when the burglar got in through his window at the exclusive seafront Martinez Hotel.

James — a former Household Cavalryman — told how he jumped out of bed. He said: “I had just picked up an award for Best Newcomer at the NRJ awards.

“It was pitch black in the room so I couldn’t really see anything.

“I was looking for a phone to ring downstairs, or for an emergency button to push. But the only thing I could find was my NRJ award.”

The singer went on: “He wasn’t looking for me in particular — it was completely random.

“He must have climbed up some scaffolding, over the balcony and climbed in through my window.”

Last night James, who alerted hotel staff, was in Austria as part of his nine-month world tour.

His single You’re Beautiful — which was No1 for five weeks in the UK — is currently at No8 in the US charts.

James will perform at next month’s Brit Awards, where he is up for five gongs — Best Pop Act, Best Male, Best Single, Best Album and British Breakthrough.

He joked: “It would be good to win a Brit Award — you never know when it might come in handy to use on burglars.”