A sound expert from Oxfordshire is on Cloud Nine after winning an Oscar – just weeks after picking up a Bafta.

Ian Tapp, 44, of Mawles Lane, Shipton-Under-Wychwood, near Chipping Norton, won the award for mixing the sound on Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle.

The film, which scooped eight Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards, tells the story of a love-struck orphan from the slums of Mumbai who gets the chance to win 20 million rupees on the Indian version of the TV quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

It was shot in India but the post-production was done in the UK, particularly at Pinewood Studios where Mr Tapp spent five weeks working on the film.

Last night Mr Tapp said: “I’m absolutely ecstatic to have been awarded the highest accolade in the film industry.

“It’s a dream come true. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in just yet!”

Next door neighbour Gail Huntingford said she did not know Mr Tapp but occasionally bumped into his wife – Sue Wood – out walking.

She said: “It’s a wonderful thing to happen – quite something in a sleepy little village. You don’t know who you have living around the corner.

“I know he’s a busy man and I hope it does his career the world of good.

“I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a terrific film.”

Alan Vickers, chairman of Shipton-Under-Wychwood Parish Council, said it was great to have a world-famous film industry worker in the village. He added: “It’s fantastic – we have a lot of talented people in Shipton. I haven’t seen the film, but I certainly will now.”

It is the second Oscar success connected to the village. Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes lives nearby and was a long-standing fixture in the village’s cricket team.

Mr Tapp and colleagues Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty were up against sound engineers who worked on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, WALL-E and Wanted.

On stage at the Academy Awards, Mr Tapp let Mr Pookutty do most of the talking. He simply told the audience: “Thank you very much.”

Earlier in the month, Mr Tapp, who previously worked on Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets and Shakespeare In Love, picked up a Bafta (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award, again for his work on Slumdog.

Speaking from Los Angeles, Dennis Weinreich, Pinewood’s post-production managing director, applauded the work of the sound engineers on the film.

He said: “For a British picture to come to Hollywood and make such a significant impact on the community is really heart-warming.”