A 22-year-old waitress is being tipped for the top after she was overheard singing in a restaurant kitchen.

Lauren Jackson, from Whitefield, got her fairytale break while working at La Cappanina in Sunnybank.

Singer Jo David was one of the customers eating in the Italian restaurant when Lauren broke into song in the kitchen area. He first mistook Lauren's voice for the radio, until he discovered the singing was for real.

He then persuaded her to sing for him after most diners had left, and he was more than pleased with her performance.

Lauren, who has been working at the restaurant for eight months, has had no formal training as a singer, but keeps in good voice by singing at work and at karaoke sessions.

Jo (22) recently helped launch the career of Worsley's Popstar's Sarah Whatmore after finding fame on TV's Popstars programme. Her debut single "When I Lost You" reached number six in the charts.

Lauren, who has a two-year-old daughter Saffron, said: "I am excited about a possible singing career, but I know nothing is for certain in the music business."