Girl group Little Mix win final of X Factor

GIRL group Little Mix have made X Factor history by becoming the first group to win the title.

Mentored by Tulisa Contostavlos, the band scooped the crown in front a 10,000-strong audience at Wembley Arena in north London last night with millions watching on television.

The band, made up of Jade Thirlwall, 18, Perrie Edwards, also 18, Jesy Nelson, 20, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, 19, beat Liverpudlian Marcus Collins to the title.

The girls and their mentor looked stunned when host Dermot O’Leary announced the result with Leigh-Anne only managing to say: “Oh my God, wow.”

Jade added: “We are just so grateful and thankful to everyone who voted, and to everyone backstage.”

Asked when the news would sink in, Jesy said: “This is never going to sink in. We cannot thank the public enough.”

Runner-up Collins said the band “really deserve” the title, adding that they are “amazing”.

The girls, who had never met before being put together as a band, are representing different parts of the UK, with Jesy from Essex, Leigh-Anne from London, and Jade and Perrie from South Shields, Tyne and Wear.

They have walked away from the talent show with a recording contract and will now release their winner’s single, a rendition of Damien Rice’s Cannonball, in a bid to top the charts with a Christmas number one.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes said the group were second favourites to take the Christmas number one slot in the charts following their X Factor win. The girl band are trailing behind the Military Wives, who are 1/2 favourites, in the race to top the festive charts.