A singer-songwriter success story isn’t turning her back on Sidmouth even as she releases her first EP.

Clara Bond has filmed a session for a national newspaper, released a single on iTunes and is appearing on BBC Introducing today, but still finds time to return to her family home in Convent Road.

The 18-year-old said: “I still consider Sidmouth my home - I’m not ready to give it up yet.”

Yet she lives in London now, where she has been a professional singer for the last busy two years.

“It still feels like last week that I was getting into this,” she added.

There has been a steep learning curve, and Clara has written dozens of songs to find out what works and what doesn’t; rejecting other songwriters’ songs because they ‘feel like covers’.

Clara describes herself as headstrong, and retained creative control as she self-published her EP.

She pushed through her first single, ‘Back to You’ despite her producer’s objections, aware that she could only make her debut once.

She said: “I’m quite stubborn – I think anyone who knows me will probably agree!”

Stubbornness she may have got from her mum, Catherine Osbond, the director of East Devon Art Academy.

Before one performance, Clara was feeling nauseous and didn’t want to go on stage, but her mum wouldn’t let her leave.

Clara said: “She said if you don’t go out now you will have really bad anxiety next time.”

Clara thanked her in the long run, as she has now performed across the country, and sings without issue.

As part of a piece on ‘wonder women’, she recorded an acoustic session for the Telegraph newspaper’s website.

Clara was filmed performing in a skate park on the Thames’ south bank, surrounded by graffiti artists and skateboarders, in what she said was her weirdest gig yet.

Her debut EP is released on Monday, November 5.