THE view from the office window might not be the first consideration for most business bosses, but for one enterprising couple it was enough to bring them hundreds of miles north to their new North-East home.

Maurice and Carrie Graham-Weall are so pleased with their new life in the region that they sing the praises of its spectacular scenery and welcoming people.

They had hopped from county to county across the south, until two years in hectic Oxfordshire drove them to search the internet for a new home in the North.

Now, hidden away in rural County Durham near West Auckland, they couldn't be happier to have enough land and buildings to breed their champion Dalmatians and open a boarding kennels for other people's pampered pets.

They set up their business with the help of Teesdale Enterprise Agency and already have plans to expand.

Carrie said: "We have always had dogs and decided it was the right time to try a new venture where we could both be involved and in something that we had the most knowledge.

"As soon as we came here we fell in love with the whole area.

"It is a long way from the image of the industrialised north that people have. The scenery is spectacular, the roads are quieter and the people are so friendly."

The Graham-Wealls are licensed for 14 kennels, each equipped with comfortable duvet and central heating.

They wanted to create somewhere good enough for their own cherished pets, including their latest champion Rupert, officially Phidgity Pitch Black.

A jobs summit at Auckland Castle last year heard how enterprise agencies hoped to use the region's natural assets to attract new ventures.

Coun Alan Fenwick, the chairman of Durham County Council, said: "I am delighted that Mr and Mrs Graham-Weall have moved to County Durham and are discovering for themselves that our outstanding landscape, our rich and varied culture and out friendly communities all add up to a better quality of life."

The Bankfoot Farm kennels can be contatced by telephoning (01388) 833347.