A TEENAGE singing sensation is hoping the region will back her when she competes in the final of a televised talent show.

Ashlea Pearson, 13, of Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, won her heat of Stars In Their Eyes Kids shown on ITV last weekend.

Her performance of Gloria Estefan's One, Two, Three wowed the show's judges.

But now she needs the support of the public and hopes people will ring in to vote for her when she performs live on Saturday.

Ashlea said: "I am really excited about it - I can't wait. I prefer performing live because you can show off more and have more fun.

"Everyone was really excited to see me in the final.

"People have been coming up to me and saying 'I saw you on Stars In Their Eyes'."

She is taking on eight other young singers but beat off competition from 10,000 hopefuls to get on the show.

Ashlea, who has been singing since she was five and taking lessons since she was eight, is a pupil of Lord Lawson of Beamish in Birtley.

European MP Stephen Hughes asked for her autograph for his six-year-old daughter, who is already a fan, when he visited the school on Tuesday.

Ashlea's mother Christina said: "She has had an absolutely brilliant reaction. People have been coming up to her in the street to say they saw her and she has had cards and presents supporting her from people she doesn't know.

"The more people who know about it the better. She is the only known competitor from the North-East so we hope everyone will vote for her."

Lord Lawson headteacher David Grigg said: "We're always willing to celebrate the success of our students.

"We have many students performing at high levels in a range of activities and Ashlea's a good example.

"She's a young lady who commits a great deal of time to her chosen activity and she's clearly successful at a national level.

"We wish her well for the national finals of the competition this weekend when we'll all be glued to our screens."

Ashlea said: "I have always wanted to be a professional singer. I hope that whether I win the final or not this will help towards my musical career."