A Wimbledon father who took up songwriting to get over his broken marriage is hoping his dreams of stardom will not be undone by stage fright.

Singer-songwriter Tim Buckley beat hundreds of London acts to win a place in a regional final of national music competition Open Mic UK, which offers £50,000-worth of prizes and a recording contract.

The 45-year-old father-of-two is now within sight of the grand final at the O2 in Greenwich, but admitted he had to overcome tremendous nervousness while performing.

Mr Buckley said: “I’ve performed for hundreds of people before now, but standing in front of those three judges had my heart beating 19 to the dozen. I felt like a nervous kid.

“I was so surprised when they said I was through. I’ve not been doing this very long but it gives me such a lift when I pick up my guitar, I love it.”

The regional final of the competition, in which more than 600 acts will perform covers or original songs, takes place at the Beck Theatre, Hayes, on Sunday.