FRENCH woman Danielle Preece abandoned her studies for love when she arrived in Leigh.

Now the schools' language assistant has obtained a BA Hons degree from the Open University and hopes to qualify as a French and Spanish teacher next year.

Student Danielle, 29, fell for landscape gardener husband, Carl while visiting a friend in the town during a six weeks holiday to improve her English.

The couple, of Landside, Leigh, who have been together for nine years now have a five-months-old baby, Eden.

She said: "My husband encouraged me to to the degree because it was always a regret that I did not finish my studies in France."

Danielle, who hails from St Etienne, has been in education for eight years and is a part-time language assistant in two Warrington schools.

When she becomes a teacher she said it will be a great challenge learning how to teach her native language the English way.

Baby Eden has a head start when it comes to languages, his mum speaks to him in French all day so that he will be "bilingual without the pain".

And Carl too has a pretty good grasp of French -- but said Danielle "it's been like learning to drive with your husband".