England celebrated an emphatic Ashes triumph in Australia yesterday, their first Down Under in 24 years, after inflicting a record third innings drubbing in the final Test.

England wrapped up an innings and 83-run victory early on the last day in Sydney for their first series victory in Australia since Mike Gatting’s team won 2-1 in 1986-87.

The series culminated in an overpowering England performance against the one-time titans and plunged Australian cricket into the depths of despair and inquisition.

“It feels pretty special if I’m honest,” England skipper Andrew Strauss said.

“Until an Ashes series is finally over you’ve got half an eye on what’s to come, so even in Melbourne (fourth Test) we were still very conscious that we wanted to finish on a high and show people that we deserved to win this series.”

The tourists posted their highest-ever score in Australia on 644 and dismissed the hapless hosts for 280 and 281.

It was probably England’s most comprehensive performance of the series with Alastair Cook (189), Matt Prior (118) and Ian Bell (115) all claiming centuries in an overpowering first innings lasting 177.5 overs and 758 minutes.

Their bowlers, led by leading series wicket-taker James Anderson, exposed the gulf between the two attacks by twice dismissing Australia cheaply.

British Prime Minister David Cameron led the congratulations, describing the Sydney victory as “the icing on the cake” of a successful Ashes tour.