ROMANTIC Rossendale couple Andrew and Nadine Clegg have won through to the final of a national competition with their story of love.

The couple suffered many trials and tribulations before finally tying the knot - eight years after they first met.

The story of Nadine and Andrew, came to light in a competition aimed at finding the country's most romantic pair.

Andrew's mum Pam Clegg nominated them in a competition by compacting their life-story into a six-page letter.

Asda, Rawtenstall picked the romantic couple, of Riverside Park, Whitewell Bottom, to be the local winners and go through to the final which could see them telling their story live on ITV daytime programme The Des and Mel show.

Pam said the couple first met and started dating in 1988 but the relationship hit a stumbling block when Nadine decided to emigrate to South Africa with her parents.

She said: "Andew was gutted but he didn't want to stop her from going because she would regret it later in life."

As the years went by they lost contact and Nadine ended up marrying a South African businessman.

Nadine 31, said: "In the back of my mind I always knew Andrew was the right one but I tried to ignore it because we had both moved on."

Andrew, 33, had started dating another girlfriend, but a chance meeting in the Queen's Nightclub, Rawtenstall, in 1995, helped bring the pair back together.

Andrew, a self-employed odd-job man, said: "I saw her at the bar and I couldn't believe it. She had come back for a holiday to see friends and family but all the feelings I had for her came back.

"It was like we had never been apart only we had both moved on and had other people to think about."

The pair decided to bite the bullet and leave their partners to be together. They married in June 1996.

The couple then tried for a baby for four years without any luck.

But just before they were about to pay for IVF treatment, Nadine discovered she was pregnant and they now have a healthy one-year-old baby girl, Charlie.

Andew's mum Pam, who lives in Waterfoot, added: "We always knew that Nadine was the one for Andrew and they couldn't be happier.

"They have the most wonderful relationship, it's just a shame they had to wait so long to be together."

A spokesman for Asda, Rawtenstall, said: "Out of all the entries we felt touched by this story which luckily has a happy ending. They will now go through to the final for a chance to win a holiday to Mauritius."