THEY were the youngest band on show, but a smash hit performance from the Journey brought them success in the final of Fenland s Battle of the Bands. The Journey, from Gorefield, made up of 14-year-old Joshua Horvath, his brother Samuel, 12, and Ben Stanh

THEY were the youngest band on show, but a smash hit performance from the Journey brought them success in the final of Fenland's Battle of the Bands.

The Journey, from Gorefield, made up of 14-year-old Joshua Horvath, his brother Samuel, 12, and Ben Stanhope, 15, beat five older and more experienced bands to claim victory at a packed Childers, in Whittlesey, on Saturday.

Richard Horvath, the brothers' father, who acts as their manager and roadie, said: "I'm incredibly proud of them.

"They've been at it more or less since they could walk; they practise every day and they write their own songs.

"They've worked terrifically hard and deserved to win."

Fenland District Council organised the contest, with Art & Soul Magazine.

The other finalists were The Throwaways, Siren, Marble Heart, The Balance and Lexie Green. The evening ended with an exhilarating set from popular band, Acer.

Councillor Steve Garratt, portfolio holder with responsibility for young people and one of the judges on the night, said the evening was "a huge success". He said: "We knew there was a lot of talent out there needing a platform to show what they could do. This competition has given them that."

Fellow judge Councillor Martin Curtis added: "As a big fan of rock music, I thought the standard was incredibly high."

The Journey's reward will be some studio time at Grange Farm Studio at Emneth, a gig organised by Art & Soul Magazine, some T-shirts provided by Rampage skate shop in Whittlesey and a website created by Dimension 6000 Design.