X FACTOR victor Matt Cardle has revealed how he got through the competition thanks to a lucky bag of rubbish.

The superstitious winner said he had been hoarding bits of old tat for weeks in a bid to continue his streak.

Almost 20 million people watched the former painter and decorator sing his way to triumph by winning the ITV1 talent show.

He is now aiming for a Christmas number one with debut single When We Collide, a cover of a track by Scottish rock trio Biffy Clyro.

Cardle, 27 and from Little Maplestead, near Halstead, beat Liverpudlian Rebecca Ferguson as the huge show reached its climax last night.

And he admitted he had been carrying out a bizarre ritual to ensure all went smoothly.

“I’m so superstitious and I put any kind of rubbish that I get, old sweet wrappers, cigarette wrappers, anything like that, in my bag,” he told ITV morning show Lorraine.

“If I get through a round, then I don’t take it out, so my bag is literally bursting with rubbish.”

And he said the whole experience - which saw him land a lucrative record deal - has left him spinning and is yet to sink in.

He added: “Last night was an absolute blur.”

Cardle previously fronted his own guitar band Seven Summers and he suggested today that he would be more comfortable in a bigger line-up than as a solo star.

He told presenter Lorraine Kelly: “I would love to front a band, the camaraderie you have in a band, especially if you go on the road, you want to share those experiences.

“When you come off stage you’re buzzing, (it would be great to have) someone there to buzz with you and bounce around with. But this is all stuff to think about. I’m still in the bubble.”

Throughout the competition Cardle was way out in front as a favourite with the audience, voting figures have showed, as he won all but one of the public votes. The only time he missed out was during the first live show, which was won by Mary Byrne.