SEVEN local acts proved the point last Friday: Hatherleigh certainly does have talent.

Fourteen-year-old Holly Jo Gilbert-West won through against stiff competition in front of a crowd of 150 people at Hatherleigh Community Centre, wowing the judges by playing the guitar and singing a song she wrote at the age of eleven.

Also demonstrating their talent for singing and songwriting was 14-year-old Linden Ough, 17-year-old Callum Aitken, and 16-year-old JJ Stanbury. Performing some stunning dance moves was the Holsworthy College dance group, the Holsworthy Elite dance group, and joint act Katie and Vicky Bennett.

Compere for the night Andy Bennett kept the crowd entertained with a range of jokes, poems and banter. The three judges, Josie Lloyd, Peter Embling and Tony Jones, all have experience of performing arts, and judged each act on five criteria — entertainment value, audience reaction, presentation, originality, and sheer talent.

After each act, the judges also provided some tips and suggestions for each performer.

The judges had some tough decisions to make, and the final result was extremely close, with the top four acts scoring well over 75%. The scores were so close that a re-count was needed before the winner was announced to an excited crowd.

During the evening, tickets were also sold for a big money 50/50 raffle, with the lucky winner receiving £85.

Liz Abell, community centre trustee and one of the event organisers, said: 'We would like to send a huge thank you to all the acts who performed so well, and everyone who helped out both to prepare for the event, and on the night.

'The whole evening was such a success that there are already plans for Hatherleigh's Got Talent to continue in future years.