An Otley couple have escaped the rat-race and swapped the Chevin for Italy's Tuscan hills.

Sarah Fraser and Richard Turnbull fell in love at first sight with their Italian farmhouse after looking for a holiday villa on the internet.

"I'd always fancied moving abroad but it was only when we saw this lovely house that we decided to look into it further," said Sarah, speaking from her rural retreat between the famous cities of Pisa and Florence.

"It's a marvellous experience. Sometimes I do miss fish and chips and curries but all I have to do is look out the window at the wonderful views and I remind myself that the pros definitely outweigh the cons."

After flying out to view the house - which they almost lost to another buyer - the couple were convinced they were doing the right thing and put their three-bedroom terrace on the market.

Sarah, 28, ditched her job as an events co-ordinator while Richard, 36, chose to divide his time between Italy and the UK so he could carry on working as a Jimmy Savile impersonator and run his Leeds-based mobile DJ business.

Now the couple, who have a three-year-old son Gregory and are expecting another baby, are busy converting their five-bedroom stone farmhouse and two other stone houses, which will be rented out as holiday homes.

They also own a 15-acre olive grove and have just completed their first harvest with which they produced and bottled virgin olive oil called Casa del Sole, named after their new home.

"It has been hard work and throughout the winter we didn't have a bathroom but we have chosen to do this and the whole experience is so rewarding," said Sarah, who is writing a book about the move.

"When I do get stressed I think how lucky I am that I'm out of the nine-to-five daily grind."

The couple are now having Italian lessons and Gregory has already picked up the language after going to the village school.

At Christmas Sarah's mum Rae Fraser, of Menston, flew out with festive goodies, including a traditional Christmas pudding.

"We copped out and had a typical English Christmas dinner but apart from that we've thrown ourselves into the Italian way of life," said Sarah.

The family's story was last night screened on Channel 4's new series of No Going Back which followed their move in May last year up to the end of October.