[Firewire]

Joe McElderry has reportedly broken a rib following a prank devised by fellow X Factor hopeful Stacey Solomon.

McElderry was apparently left in pain after slipping on a can of deodorant inside the contestants' house and falling awkwardly.

Solomon revealed that the incident occurred after she and Lucie Jones decided to play a prank on Olly Murs.

In a video posted on the official X Factor website, Solomon explained: "This week me and Lucie decided to prank Olly but Olly was in a bad mood. We went downstairs with a bottle of water and the plan was that Lucie would open his pants and I would pour the water, but Lucie chickened out last minute because Olly was getting angry saying, 'Get out of my room'.

"So we went up to his bedroom and because he hates mess we moved his blanket, we put his shoes on his bed, toothpaste, hair gel and hair spray and then he started running up the stairs so we ran and ran and I fell up the stairs and Joe slipped on a can of deodorant on the floor and broke his rib."

An X Factor spokesperson added: "It appears that they were just messing around in the house and playing pranks on each other."

DS.