A MAN who flew across the world to marry a woman he met on the internet is celebrating after learning his bride will be allowed to come to the UK.

Stewart Hindle married cyber sweetheart Tina Evans in Hawaii earlier this year after a whirlwind romance on the web.

But the couple have been living thousands of miles apart since the marriage because of immigration regulations which meant Tina could not come back to the country with her new husband.

But now Tina's application for a visa has been accepted and she will head to her new home in Padiham in about two weeks.

Stewart, 42, of Palmerston Street, Padiham, said: "It's fantastic news and I can't wait for Tina to come across and join me over here. It's been a frustrating time for us both, but at last we will be able to be together.

"I spoke to Tina on Friday when she told me the visa had been granted so it's just a case of getting flights sorted. Hopefully she should be arriving in mid-June. I can't wait and I know she's really looking forward to her new life.

Stewart, an engineer who works at Chadfort Engineering, Blackburn, and also runs his owns a computer company from his home in Padiham met Tina while browsing on a chat forum last year.

He said: "It surprised me because I was expecting to meet someone in England, but found someone on the other side of the world. Everything seemed to be right. I think if we had met and things weren't right we would not have got married. As soon as we met it was like we had known each other for years."

But what seemed like a dream come true turned into a nightmare for Stewart.

Tina, 35, a secretary from the Tampa Bay area of Florida, had to wait in Hawaii until Home Office officials processed her application for the right to live in the UK.

She was banned from visiting the UK because of the potential for abusing the system.

Stewart said: "This is the start of a new life for us. Tina will be able to stay for two years initially, but after the Home Office checks everything is OK with the marriage we can start to think about permanent residence."