THE wheels are back on track for a South African couple eager to make a fresh start in Blackpool.

Sharon and Manuel Da Silva Teixeira (pictured), of St David's Road, St Annes, relocated from Johannesburg after fearing for their own and their seven-year-old son Raphael's safety.

Now the couple work as conductors with Blackpool Transport for a summer season on the town's trams and say they are loving it.

But for Sharon, 36, the massive trip is something of a homecoming - she was raised in Seafield Road before moving to Johannesburg when she was four. Manuel, who left his job as a company manager in the motor trade, said: "Today Johannesburg is one of, if not the most dangerous city in the world. That's no place to raise a child and so we decided our future was in Blackpool, where Sharon's mother now lives.

"I started a Portuguese cuisine shop in town when we first arrived, but it was a disaster. Now I know Blackpool people like fish and chips better and if I had known before I would have opened a chippy.

"So we got jobs working as conductors on the trams. At first I was very negative having owned my own business in South Africa, but I soon came to love it.

"I love the trams, especially the older ones because there's nothing like this in South Africa. But eventually I would like to get back into business.

Sharon agreed: "In the beginning I didn't think it would be so great. But we've met all types of people and the staff are really nice to work with. I can't see myself going back to South Africa."

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