THE hills are alive with the sound of music and one-time opera singer Ann Hendriks could not be happier.

The 32-year-old is giving singing lessons at Guisborough where she has bought a house with her Dutch husband, Thorsten, whom she met on the internet and married in Holland.

Ann, daughter of Gordon Wallace, vice chairman of Stockton Music Festival, lived for a time in the Netherlands where the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary, last year, with the birth of their daughter, Megan.

She said it is great to be back on Teesside. "It's wonderful here, the scenery is gorgeous,'' she said. "The hills and moors are beautiful."

Ann, a Bachelor of Music, who also has a 12-year-old daughter, Charlotte, is using her maiden name as her professional stage name and can be contacted on (01287) 619432.