CHEERING crowds greeted X-Factor winner Shayne Ward at the Manchester Arndale Centre on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old from Clayton has launched his bid for the Christmas Number One slot, with bookies making him overwhelming favourite.

More than 750,000 copies of That's My Goal have been sent out by his record company and the number one will be announced on Christmas Day.

It was released on Wednesday and Shayne was in Manchester to sing the song to a home crowd.

On ITV's X-Factor, Shayne beat binman Andy Abraham into second place by just 1.2 per cent of the vote in a nail-biting final of the hit show on Saturday. More than 10.9 million votes were cast with 9.3 million viewers tuning in.

He has already won a £1 million record contract with Simon Cowell's label Synco music and has promised to buy his mum a new house and take his family on holiday.

Yet just six months ago Shayne was working as a sales assistant in a shoe shop in the shopping centre.

Throughout The X-Factor contest, judges Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne praised him as level headed and down to earth.

After beating Andy and Journey South in the final he vowed that fame would not change him.