The mum of X Factor sensation Alexandra Burke has spoken of her heartbreak at having to turn down a move to Sheppey.

It follows rumours that the singer had bought a house on the exclusive Kingsborough Manor estate in Eastchurch.

Mum Melissa Bell, 47, confirmed she was poised to move there in a home paid for by Alexandra, 23, winner of the fifth series of the reality show in 2008.

But as a dialysis patient, Melissa said "logistics" meant her Island dream is over... for now.

She said: "My heart's broken, the house was everything I wanted and more.

"But I need to be near a hospital which provides dialysis treatment.

"I haven't entirely given up hope and one day a move to Sheppey might be on the cards."

Melissa, who is a music teacher and gives lessons to underprivileged children, said she fell in love with Sheppey after regular trips to Sittingbourne to teach.

She said the five-bedroom, £500,000 house she earmarked for her and her three younger children would have been a world away from the hustle and bustle of their current home in King's Cross.

The prestigious Kingsborough Manor estate in Eastchurch, where Melissa had been hoping to move to

She said: "The house and the area are absolutely amazing, we wouldn't have got anything like it for the same price in the capital.

"It’s like something out of Desperate Housewives, lovely big gardens and wonderfully peaceful and quiet.

"Alex was very impressed."

With her Island hopes dashed, Melissa is now looking to find a house near to Alexandra's in north London.

She said her daughter was thrilled to return to the X Factor as a judge on Saturday, following the temporary departure of Kelly Rowlands due to illness.

And Melissa hasn't ruled out a return of her own, to the Island she's desperate to call home.

She said: "Sheppey is a beautiful place but it’s not conducive to the treatment I'm having at the moment.

"I don't really want to be travelling up and down the A2 three times a week.

"But I've still got my eye on a place, and if we end up moving there, Alexandra will be a regular visitor."