A British ex-pat moved his young Brazilian family back to Blighty after 35 years abroad - following a holiday romance with a difference.

David Peacock, 56, arrived in England last month from his home in Fortaleza, Brazil, and the visit has changed his life - he has fallen in love with Maldon.

Mr Peacock was only in Britain to see relatives and show his family his homeland. He had no plans to stay.

But after a series of events he describes as "almost supernatural" he was seduced by the area and decided there was no better place in the world to live.

David and his Brazilian wife Angela, and their two young sons, have now settled on a houseboat in Heybridge Basin.

Mr Peacock left Britain in 1964 to sail the world and seek his fortune with little thought of returning.

During his travels he met Angela and settled in a house by the sea where the temperature never falls below 25C (77F).

He and his family arrived in England on June 30, not expecting to stay on. They headed for East Anglia, a place Mr Peacock remembered from his youth, but did not have enough cash to reach Ipswich and instead found themselves in Maldon.

It was while looking for a place to stay for a few days that Mr Peacock popped into the Pieces of Eight cafe in Heybridge Basin, owned by Mike Williams.

He said: "I was just walking around trying to find a caravan or a cottage to rent and someone told me about Mike's boat."

The boat was a 75ft ex-Royal Navy motor fishing vessel converted into a houseboat.

Mr Peacock snapped it up: "As soon as I got the boat, it changed everything. It's almost supernatural - as if I was meant to go there.

"I didn't really have great expectations before coming to England but arriving in Maldon and then walking along the canal to Heybridge Basin - it was so incredibly beautiful."

He said he was amused when people asked him why he left Brazil - because he thinks Maldon is the best place in the world.

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