A BUDDING young musician from Penarth is in the final of a nationwide competition.

Ben Dain-Smith has made it through to the last stages of Brand New Artist which means he is guaranteed a place on a major compilation album.

He has been competing against other musicians from across the United Kingdom since the start of April.

Ben is the sole representative from South Wales at this stage of the competition which has now been cut down to 25 acts.

It also means the 17-year-old is now one step closer to a chance of a Christmas number one and a life changing £100,000 recording contract.

At the moment he is in seventh position in the country which represents a rise on his previous position of 12th.

He has been interviewed on Stanwell School's radio station and has played a number of gigs in the build-up to this stage.

Ben said: "Another round of local help could propel me to an even higher position and even possibly a victory."

His mother, Sue, is absolutely delighted about her son making it so far and is urging the people of Penarth to vote for Ben.

The voting format has changed. There is now a separate page on the Brand New Artist website for voting purposes.

The former email method still works but the new way is deemed a more straightforward way of voting.

You can vote for Ben by visiting http://www.brand-new-artist.com/vote/.

Or you can email Vote 91 and send it to vote@negart-records-bna.com