Accrington’s X Factor hopes are well and truly alive as local lad Reece Bibby has made it through to the live shows.

The 15-year-old, who went up against thousands of hopefuls, has made it through the judges house stage as part of an eight-piece boyband, the largest band ever put together on the show.

The boys will now join Louis Walsh’s other groups Blonde Electra and Only the Young for the live shows which start on Saturday, Ocotber 11.

Their mentor said: “You have great chemistry and an eight piece boyband has never happened before.”

St Christopher’s pupil Reece and his bandmates will now go head to head with the 11 other acts in the competition to battle it out for the coveted title of X Factor winner 2014.

The boys are proving to be one of the favourites for this years competition, despite only having been put together in the boot camp stages after impressing the judges as solo singers.

Bookies odds put the boyband at 5/1 to win the competition and scoop a recording contract.

Reece’s dad Jamie said his family are over the moon.

He said: “I’m very proud of him, we’ve known for a while and its been very hard not to tell friends and family.

“Reece he called us from the airport to tell us that he had got through, we couldn’t believe it.

“The house went a bit crazy after that.”

Jamie said the family will be travelling down to London for the live shows, and they want as many people as possible to get behind Reece and vote for the band.

He said: “The house is a little bit quieter without him singing and playing guitar, but we had to let him go off on his X Factor adventure.”

The boyband will take to the stage on the first live show on Saturday night on ITV.