A couple from Bury are celebrating their five-year anniversary of running a guest house in Windermere — which they found while starring on a TV show.

Paula and Graham Smith, formerly of Neston Road, Walshaw, upped sticks in 2009 and moved into Lingmoor Guest House.

The pair were both made redundant in 2007 and 2008, which prompted them to take the plunge and called on the help of Channel 4 show A Place in the Sun Home and Away to find the home of their dreams.

They opened their doors on February 5, 2009, and Paula said: “Five years have flown by for us both.

"We survived the floods of November, 2009, and while the Lingmoor was not directly affected, the knock-on effect did affect us business-wise.

“It was like a switch had been turned off.” said Graham. “We had been extremely busy from the day we opened until that day in November and then all of a sudden no one came and we had empty beds.

“It was an awful time for all those affected and we decided to mark our first birthday on February 5, 2010, by giving something back to the people of Cumbria.

“We gave away half of our rooms to people whose homes had been flooded.”

The couple now say they are searching for a bigger challenge.

Paula added: “We are now ready to move on and are looking for a larger guest house or even a small hotel.”