A 22,000-MILE round trip came to an end as a Darlington woman tied the knot with her Hull sweetheart.

Mrs Clare Ellerington, formerly Miss Johnston, met her husband David in France, became engaged in Amsterdam, and was married in her home town.

When the couple met in 1997 at the Clos Joli campsite in Argeles-Sur-Mer, France, they were amazed to discover they had both been coming there with their families for more than a decade.

"I knew of David's family but we never really met them until three years ago," Mrs Ellerington said. "It's really weird - we've got the same memories of childhood holidays!"

Back in England, the romance blossomed, and the couple saw each other every weekend. Once a fortnight, Mr James Johnston and his wife Susan would wave their daughter off from their home in Carisbrooke Walk, as she drove to Hull to see her man.

Her husband, David, clocked up his share of travelling by coming up to Darlington on alternate weekends. Between them the love-struck pair covered 22,800 miles.

Mr Ellerington proposed on the North Sea ferry to Amsterdam on Valentine's Day in 1998, and the couple married at the United Reformed church in Darlington.

They have settled in Meldon Close, Darlington, but have already been back to the French beauty spot where they met. "We went last year and are planning to go for a long weekend at the August bank holiday if we can get a flight," said Mrs Ellerington. "My mum and dad have still got the caravan there, so it's great to have a cheap holiday in a wonderful place."

l See Northern Brides: pages 9 & 11