Singer's vow over X Factor try

A north Shropshire hopeful who failed to impress judges at this year's X Factor auditions has vowed to try again.

Donald Eley, 44, from Market Drayton, was told by judges "you are not what we are looking for" when he auditioned for the show at Aston Villa's Villa Park in Birmingham.

But he refuses to let the experience put him off, and said he would like to go back and try again next year.

Donald's partner, Amanda Pollard, 29, said when the couple went down earlier this month, Donald had to audition outside, alongside everyone else, so he changed plans and sang Shane Ward's That's My Goal instead of Take That's Rule the World as planned, because he was worried he would not be heard above the other singers.

She said Donald's nerves got the better of him on the day, but he would return prepared for the experience next year.

"He got nervous, and the judges just said 'you are not what we are looking for', because he forgot a couple of the words halfway through his song, but he has said he would like to go back next year and just see what happens.

"I felt so sick and I was not even singing, I just felt sorry for everyone else there," she said.

Amanda, added Donald, a grounds maintenance worker, regularly sings karaoke at Tiddlers bar in Market Drayton, and impresses his sons Martin, 16, and Matthew, 14, and the couple's sons Korben, six, and Keiyn, two.