A Hadleigh boy has battled off hundreds of contenders to reach the area final of a UK singing competition.

Harry Planck, 14, impressed the judges at the first round of the Open Mic UK singing competition in September with his version of Mumford and Son’s Little Lion Man, and earned himself a spot in the area final with an acoustic rendition of Believe by Cher.

On November 24 he will perform at the Beck Theatre in Hayes, Middlesex against other finalists from the East of England. If he succeeds there he will perform at the O2 Arena in London.

Having been singing since he was nine-years-old, Harry has already had some competitive success. He won ‘Has Hadleigh Got Talent?’ in 2010, and performed that year at the town’s Christmas lights switch-on.

“I get nervous a few days before the performance and the night before but when I’m standing in the wings I’m quite excited,” said Harry. “I feel at home on the stage.”

The people of Hadleigh have rallied behind their singing champion, in particular Hadleigh High School which Harry attends.

“They’re really supportive and want to come and watch and the school have said that if I get through to the O2 they’ll organise a minibus to take people there.”

Of course the strongest support has come from Harry’s family, who come to all of his performances.

“I like it because they’re quite proud of me and I like to make them proud,” said Harry.

“We are really proud of him, we were so nervous for him but he takes it all in his stride,” said Hayley, Harry’s mum. “When he gets on stage he comes into his own. He really enjoys it. I was more nervous than he was I think.”

Harry hopes to continue his singing and would like to have a career as an on-screen actor.