A committed crimper has proved he is a cut above the rest by travelling thousands of miles from his new home in Spain to cut his clients' hair in Guiseley.

Everyone dreams of upping sticks and moving to warmer climes at this time of year.

And John Allen, from Paul Anthony's, did just that.

But as he settled into his life in sunny Spain with wife Katy, 37, and three children, he was inundated by requests to come back to England and keep up appointments.

Now he flies 3,000 miles every three weeks to cut hair back here in England.

Speaking from his home in Spain today, John, 40, said: "We came out here 12 years ago and knew straightaway that we would want to come here in the future and settle here. It just felt right."

It is a year since John, his wife Katy and their three children moved to Spain.

They tried to sell their successful business in Horsforth but found no takers.

"Although it was a successful, profitable business, we couldn't find a buyer. But we were determined to come here so we gave it away."

The children - Joshua, 11, Bronte, ten, and Riley, seven - settled into a local Spanish-speaking school but by February John was being inundated with requests from ex-clients to come back and cut their hair.

At first the idea was dismissed as ridiculous. The family was settled and they didn't want to come back.

"But then I thought about it seriously and it began to look feasible. I was able to book cheap seats and then it happened."

Now John spends two thirds of his life in Frigiliana, a village 40 minutes east of Malaga, Southern Spain.

But every third week is spent in England before heading back to Spain where administration work is carried out so John is as organised as possible.

John said: "It is a fantastic life and people are amazed. The initial thing that held us back was thinking of how the children would settle in. We deliberately didn't send them to an international school because we wanted them to learn Spanish."

The children did not speak any Spanish before flying out to their new home and now have mastered the language.

"They absolutely love it and are so at home. We came here not knowing anyone and now feel completely at home."