North-East schoolboy Tom Hunter has just stepped onboard a £6m musical as he prepares to sing, dance and act his way into becoming one of the young stars of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

The nine-year-old from School Aycliffe, near Darlington, will spend the next three weeks rehearsing in London with nine-year-old Layci Wightman, from South Shields, South Tyneside, after the pair were selected to play Jeremy and Jemima for the show's 12-week run at Sunderland's Empire Theatre.

"I think it's a very big character and I just can't wait to play him," said Tom, who has achieved the dream of most youngsters of playing one of the children flying in writer Ian Fleming's famous car.

Parents Paul and Paulette admit they will probably need to borrow the flying car to keep up with Tom's hectic schedule running through to next March.

Mr Hunter, who will be staying in London with Tom for two of the three weeks, said: "It has begun to dawn on us what a commitment we have taken on, but we are determined to try and retain normal family life for the sake of our four-year-old son, Max.

"We are trying to treat this as an extension of Tom's hobby, but we know that from the age of two he would set up chairs for the audience to watch a kickabout in the garden. He always treats everything as a show."

Nerves will be jangling as Tom and Layci spend eight-hour days in the Dance Attic, in Fulham, West London, rehearsing and keeping up with their school studies. Two other London teams are also in training and the North-East pair must prove they are good enough to appear in Chitty on Friday, December 9.

"It's only once in the last few days that Tom has got nervous and slightly upset because he was worried about not coming up to scratch," said Mr Hunter, who like his wife, will be using most of his holiday time in trips to London and taking Tom to and from 28 performances at Sunderland.

Tom, who attends Heighington School, was so interested in performing that his parents decided to book a place at Darlington's Stagecoach stage school. Earlier this year, Tom auditioned successfully for a child's role in touring professional show Dracula at Darlington Civic Theatre.

"We were the only parents involved in that show, I'm not sure what the Sunderland Empire are going to do with all the parents for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, especially with chaperones as well," joked Mr Hunter.

In addition to Tom and Layci, up to 16 other children will feature on stage in this tale of child-hating royals.

Tim Flavin plays incredible inventor Caractacus Potts at Sunderland with the roles of Truly Scrumptious and Childcatcher still to be cast.

Tickets for the show are from £16, with concessions available.

To book, contact the box office on 0870 602 1130.