A crowd of would-be singing stars was expected to descend on Margate today as Dreamland hosted auditions for The X Factor.

But only a handful of people turned up to showcase their talent in front of the show's producers.

Photographer Ruth Cuerden, who went along to take pictures of the potential auditionees, said: "I thought 'have I missed it?'.

"Then I asked the security guard and he said I might have a better chance of seeing a queue after about an hour or longer.

"It was a disappointing turnout."

The TV show has been running since 2004 and it is the second year auditions have taken place at Dreamland.

Stars who have found fame after appearing in the talent contest include Olly Murs, Little Mix and One Direction.

When asked how many people turned up this morning, a spokesman could not comment.