LAURA White is the girl from a small town - Atherton - with a big voice who's made it through to the X Factor's final few.

Her mum and dad are understandably proud. Flicking through the Whites' family photo album is to see a star in the making. In early pictures, their middle child, Laura, is like any other little girl - in bridesmaid dress and matching hat or flashing a gap-toothed grin in pigtails and school uniform.

But a few pages later and it's clear the 15-year-old sporting the figure-hugging frock and the killer smile is no ordinary teenager. Taken at one of her first gigs, it is the moment Laura White from Atherton, near Wigan, took her first steps on a path that would eventually lead her to a place in the final rounds of The X Factor.

Dream

It's the proverbial dream come true for the 21-year-old Bolton University student and her family. But one they are still taking in as they ponder how their little girl was catapulted from her cosy detached house on the outskirts of a former mill town onto the national stage.

"We're just an ordinary family," says her dad Adrian, 50, who owns a hardware business. "You don't think it can happen to people like us. But the people of Atherton have been really supportive. I wouldn't think this would happen again in this little town."

A quick town centre tour - from the site of her first live performance, The Concert Inn, to the kebab shop - reveals a sea of "Vote Laura" posters. Outside the Whites' house - where her brother Michael, 24, and sister Rebekah, 20, still live - the theme continues, with giant photos of her plastered all over the "Lauramobile" in the drive, a car donated to the family for journeys to The X Factor heats.

Bubbly

Inside, the bubbly girl who used to have her family in stitches with laughter at her impressions is noticeable by her absence as balloons from her recent 21st birthday hang in the corner.

"This is the longest she's been away from home," says mum Sharon, 48, who runs a beauty salon. "You do worry as parents but she's very down-to-earth and grounded."

For all their parental anxieties, the Whites couldn't be more proud of their daughter's rise to fame. Warm and welcoming, they chat over a cup of tea - offered in Laura's "Princess" mug - recalling her early star quality.

"From the age of 15 she wanted to be a star," says Adrian. "Until then we had no idea she could sing. She's a bit shy really. I got her a PA system so she could sing round the local pubs and people started raving about her. I was always bursting with pride."

Listening to a CD Laura made of songs she wrote pre-X Factor - with tracks available on manchesteveningnews.co.uk - proves Adrian's fatherly pride was well justified. Songs including Superstar, about a young girl's search for fame, show a voice whose soulful tones would never be confined to a local gig circuit.

"We've always known she's good enough to win," adds Adrian. "From the beginning, Simon Cowell's said she's the one to beat, hugging her and telling her she's really special."

Stardom

Much has been made of the fact this is not Laura's first shot at stardom. In fact, say her mum and dad, that just proves how much she wants to make it.

"She appeared on E4's School of Performing Arts but that turned out to be more of a reality show and less about the talent," explains Sharon.

"At one point she got signed up by Mike Aitken of Stock, Aitken and Waterman fame," adds Adrian. "But after four sessions in a recording studio he never came back to her. He sent her an email recently saying he felt like the man who said no to The Beatles.

"She just really wanted to make it - but record companies won't accept demo tapes. We even drove to find Gary Barlow's house and give him a demo but he'd just moved. I thought it was never going to happen." In the final nine X Factor auditionees, Laura is at last on her way to the big time.

"There are some downsides," says Sharon. "The worst thing are the stories that aren't true," adds Adrian. "The latest one was saying she's dating an X Factor executive - it's a load of nonsense. She was gutted because what will people think?

"The fact is she's got where she is through her own determination. People haven't seen the best of her yet - whatever they throw at her, she can perform."