Murray was presented the award by Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan, in front of a sell-out 7,500 crowd at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

A two-time major winner in his career, this year he reached the final of the Australian Open and the semi-finals of both Wimbledon and the French Open.

The 28-year-old, who finished the year second in the world tennis rankings, won all 11 of his Davis Cup rubbers, three in the final against Belgium.

He was also named Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2004.

An emotional Murray said: “Thank you very much. I didn’t expect this.

“A friend sent me a message the other day with an article saying: ‘Andy Murray is duller than a weekend in Worthing,’ which I thought was a bit harsh – on Worthing.

“Congratulations to everyone who was involved tonight. This has been a five-year journey – we were down in the bottom level of tennis and now we’re number one.

“I dedicate my life to this sport and I work extremely hard every day to make you proud.”

One of the biggest cheers of the night was saved for Northern Ireland football manager Michael O’Neill, who was given a standing ovation as he was presented with the Coach of the Year award after guiding his country to their first major finals for 30 years.

The winner of the Helen Rollason Award, eight-year-old Bailey Matthews, who has cerebral palsy, captured the hearts of the crowd as he asked for them to stop cheering and received another big ovation as he said a small speech.

World heavyweight champion boxer Tyson Fury, a contender for the main award, was jeered by a section of the crowd after recent comments he made about women and homosexuality.

But during the show he apologised for comments he made that might have “hurt people”.

The other winners in Sunday’s awards ceremony were:

Overseas Sports Personality of the Year: Dan Carter: An integral part of the New Zealand team that beat Australia 34-17 to win the World Cup in October.

Young Sports Personality of the Year: Ellie Downie: The 16-year-old gymnast won bronze in the all-around at the European Championships to make her the first female gymnast to win an individual all-around medal for Great Britain.

Coach of the Year: Michael O’Neill: The Northern Ireland manager helped his country end a 30-year absence from tournament football by sealing a spot at Euro 2016 last month.

Lifetime Achievement: AP McCoy: Twenty-time champion jump jockey AP McCoy, 41, who retired in April after a record-breaking career.

Helen Rollason: Bailey Matthews: The eight-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, completed his first triathlon unaided.

Sport’s Unsung Hero: Damien Lindsay: The west Belfast youth football coach played a huge role in his local community in his work with the St James Swifts Football Club.