MORE than 600 excited fans queued patiently to see the homecoming of Louth singing sensation Thomas Leak and his band Collabro.
The 24-year-old and his fellow band mates wowed the packed audience during their one-off intimate concert at Louth's St James' Church.
As reported, the five-strong group, which includes former Monks' Dyke Tennyson College Thomas, hit the headlines earlier this year after winning Britain's Got Talent.
And on Friday night, Thomas made his first return to his home town since that incredibly memorable night.
The concert was a major fundraising event for the Louth Rotary Club to coincide with its 60th year.
Pete Gardiner, of Alford, said: "It should be a really good night.
"I followed them all the way through Britain's Got Talent and they were amazing.
"We snapped up the tickets straight away, it's great to see Thomas back here."
Cara Thompson, 17, of Louth, added: "I'm really looking forward to it, can't wait.
"I was desperate for them to win and I'm so excited to see Thomas back in Louth.
"I've been looking forward to it ever since we got the tickets."
Their amazing performance on the popular ITV talent contest was enough to win the public vote, beating off competition from eight other acts. They took home a cool £250,000 cash prize as well as a spot at the Royal Variety Performance.
And the band's debut album, entitled Stars, was released last month.
It features favourites from a variety of musicals, including Stars and Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and Idina Menzel's hit song Let It Go, from Disney's Frozen, as well as more contemporary hits such as John Legend's All Of Me and One Republic's Secrets.
The proud dad of the local singing sensation, Barrie Leak, says his son and the band were "desperate" to play in their home towns.
"I know the band were very keen on performing a homecoming concert in their towns", he said.
"It will be a great experience for me as well as this will actually be the first time I've seen them live since the final.
"So I'm really excited and hopefully they'll go down well, which I'm sure they will. It should be a great night."
Collabro may have to balance small gigs in places like East Lindsey with bigger venues across the country – such as those on their 23-date UK tour announced last month – after they secured another coup.
As reported, the band announced they had signed to Simon Cowell's record label, SYCO – which also boasts acts including One Direction and Leona Lewis.
The band will also perform at Grimsby Auditorium as part of the last leg of their UK tour along with Britain's Got Talent runner-up and opera singer Lucy Kay in March next year.
