Local band Edged were crowned winners of the 'Tandridge Has Talent' contest held at this year's DeFest music festival at de Stafford School in Caterham last weekend. The six-piece band, whose ages range from 13 to 16, beat 12 other rivals to the top spot with their song 'No Ice',  judged by County Councillor Sally Marks and Tandridge Neighbourhood Police Inspector, Elaine Burtenshaw.  The event showcased a variety of superb acts from schools across Tandridge, making the selection of the winners a tough job for the judges.

Having formed around six weeks before their winning performance at DeFest, Edged had only practised together a couple of times and had played just one gig together previous to their win. When asked about how they felt about winning the contest, rhythm guitarist George Ogle, 13, said: "It feels great, words can hardly describe it!" 

Hardly a surprising reaction considering they had only entered as "a bit of fun".

When asked about the upcoming contest 'Surrey's Got Talent', Brad Steer, lead guitarist from Caterham Valley said:  "We are looking forward to it. We're not expecting to win but it would be nice. Winning De-Fest gave us a confidence boost!"

A win would also boost their finances, with prize money of £1,000!

Edged, who write their own material, cite heavy rock bands such as Guns N' Roses, Nirvana, AC/DC and Iron Maiden as their influences.

The band has a handful of gigs ahead of them this summer when they will be performing at parties and other events. They have also secured themselves a slot at next year's DeFest. The band has been busy composing and hope to have an album out soon. They also intend to have a 'MySpace' page up and running in the next couple of months so that fans can read about the band and listen to their music online. In the meantime, best of luck guys and keep it up!