An Oxfordshire band has beaten 20,000 other acts to reach the final stages of a national competition that could be their big break.

Four-piece rock outfit Contraband, made up of members from around Witney, is in the final 40 in Live and Unsigned, the UK’s largest competition for unsigned acts.

The band will play in a grand final at the O2 Arena in London next month, to be judged by Radio One DJs and music stars.

Contraband featured in the Oxford Mail in December 2010 when they released a charity EP in aid of Help For Heroes.

The group has had a number of friends and family in the armed forces, and supports a number of military organisations including the Royal British Legion and the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes.

Bass player Derek Mobbs’s father Peter is in the RAF and the band thanks the personnel at Brize Norton airbase on its website.

Singer Shaun Thomas, 24, said: “We hoped we would get this far, and worked really hard and made sure our performances were good. We get very nervous each time.”

The rock band formed in 2004 and is made up of Mr Thomas, drummer Ricky Hill, 19, Dan Hobbs, 22, on guitar, Derek Mobbs on bass and freestyle rapper Marc ‘Pot Luck’ Eaglestone.

To get to this stage of the competition, the group has won through local, regional and area finals.

Mr Thomas, from Carterton, said: “The most nerve- wracking part is after you have performed, when you have to hang around to hear how you have done.

“You have to wait downstairs so you don’t know how the other acts have done.”

If they win the competition on July 14, the band will take home a £10,000 cash prize and earn tour dates and festival slots.

Judges include Radio One DJs Annie Nightingale, Tom Deacon and Daniel P Carter, alongside Bez from the Happy Mondays.

Mr Thomas said: “We all work full-time so the focus is on finding time to practise. We have three minutes to perform a mash-up of an original song and a cover, so we will have to decide what to choose.

To find out more about the band, visit contraband rock.com or facebook.com/ contraband.