FORMER X Factor contestants surprised young people with learning disabilities at a charity cafe, writes Carly-May Kavanagh.

Singers Brendan Murray, Shan, Acacia and Aaliyah posed for photos and signed autographs at Team Domenica in Brighton, yesterday.

They sang songs by Justin Bieber and Leona Lewis – a former X Factor winner.

The stars were in town ahead of the X Factor live tour at the Brighton Centre last night.

Domenica Lawson, 23, who has Down’s Syndrome, said she was excited to be going to the show.

She said: “Brendan sent me an autograph saying ‘with lots of love Brendan’, and a photo and video.

“I like him because he’s so cute, and every time he sings I drown in his voice.”

Domenica’s mother Rosa Monckton, who founded the charity, had asked Brendan for a photo and autograph for her daughter.

But he went one step further and sent a video and tickets for the live show.

She then invited him to the cafe, in Preston Road, to surprise some of the young people.

Domenica said it was “a day to remember”, and her best friend Lara Wolsey-Cooper, 22, said it made her feel “famous and important”.

The charity opened in 2016 to help young people with learning disabilities discover their full potential, to get them out into the workplace, and to help them connect to society to have a sense of belonging and to feel valued.

They see over 70 per cent of our programme transitioned into paid work, compared to the national statistic of 6 per cent for learning disability people.