MONTSERRATIAN John White will receive the best present he could ask for this Christmas - a new set of teeth!

John left his gnashers behind in the rush to flee from his home on the volcano-ravaged island of Montserrat to East Lancashire.

He spent months having to cope without them at his new home on Brodick Road, Shadsworth, Blackburn, which he shares with his wife Ann.

And the pensioner tucked into his turkey during the festivities after getting his teeth in time for Christmas Day.

John said: "It has been hard to eat without them and I am so glad I have got them now. It will be much better, especially for Christmas."

The couple have been touched by the number of Christmas cards they received from the local community, who have rallied round to ensure they are not alone during the festivities. Ann said: "We won't miss Christmas at home because everybody here in Lancashire has been so nice.

"This year, because of losing our home and everything, it could have been terrible but here the people are lovely.

"They have made up for it."

The pair have already attended a Christmas party in Preston, organised by The Montserratian Association, where they met fellow islanders and made new friends.

John said: "We had a festival with food and things.

"It was very grand. We met some people in the same situation as us and some Montserratians who have been here for 20 or 30 years."

They will celebrate Christmas with a minister and his family from a local church they have been attending since they arrived in the county.

And they are planning to spend New Year with another Montserratian and his family in East Lancashire.

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