In a public vote Giggs, who has spent his entire career at the club, and made a record 821 appearances for the them, came out on top in a public vote ahead of nine other short-listed candidates, who also included Britain's top tennis player Andy Murray, world triple jump champion Phillips Idowu and cyclist Mark Cavendish, who won a record six stages of the Tour de France this year.

The 36-year-old former Welsh international said: "That was a big shock.

"I've been lucky enough to win a lot of things in my career and to play under the greatest manager who ever lived and for the greatest club."

Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt won the overseas trophy, while the team award went to England's cricketers following their Ashes victory over Australia.

Fabio Capello was named Coach of the Year on the back of the 63-year-old Italian guiding England to the 2010 World Cup.

Spanish golfing great Seve Ballesteros, who is recovering from surgery on a brain tumour, won a Lifetime Achievement award and spoke via a television link from his home.

Giggs had been training at local rival Manchester City's school of excellence until Sir Alex Ferguson famously made a personal visit to the teenager's home on his 14th birthday, offering him the chance to sign schoolboy forms for United.

He turned professional in 1990, made his debut the following year and has gone on to win 11 Premier League titles, two Champions League titles in 1999 and 2008, four FA Cups, three League Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and one Club World Cup.

He has scored 151 goals for the club.

Widely respected throughout the English game for his sportsmanship, he is the first footballer to win the trophy since former United team mate David Beckham in 2001, with Michael Owen in 1998, Paul Gascoigne 1990 and Bobby Moore 1966 the only other football winners.

With the public choosing their favourite from the shortlist of 10 by phone on the night, Giggs received 29.4 per cent of the vote (151,842 votes) ahead of Button (18.74 per cent - 96,770) and Ennis (15.58 per cent - 80,469) with a total of 516,473 votes cast.

Other vote totals were Cavendish in fourth (55,960), gymnast Beth Tweddle (38,907), teenage world diving champion Tom Daley (36,929), Murray (19,936), England cricket captain Andrew Strauss (17,237), boxer David Haye (13,916) and Idowu (4,507).

Earlier in the evening, Daley (pictured) had been named the BBC's Young Sports Personality of the Year.

The 15-year-old, who won the 10-metre platform world title, beat off the challenge of tennis player Heather Watson and athlete Jodie Williams.

Daley is the first person to win the award twice after also taking the trophy in 2007.

He said: "I never knew that and it really is such an honour to get this award.

"'I still walk around here and see so many sporting legends and now they know who I am, that's the main thing."

But Daley admitted it was a blow to miss out on watching the final of the X Factor, being screened simultaneously on ITV.

He said: "It is my favourite TV programme but BBC Sports Personality is definitely more important than X Factor, my friends are going to text me the result."

Injured Iraq war veteran Major Phil Packer, 37, received the Helen Rollason award.

The paraplegic completed the 2009 London Marathon and raised £1.2million to help injured veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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