News from all over - Grantham

"There is always something going on outside our window," said Mr Davidson, 79, a former Royal Navy sailor and war veteran. "Our room looks out to the car park and a busy slip road where lorries pass by throughout the night. We have everything we need here - and the staff are like family now. We only have to walk across the car park for meals. There is just no reason why we'd want to go home."

David and Jean Davidson's love affair with the Travelodge began 22 years ago when they stopped in Newark, Nottinghamshire, during a visit to see a sick aunt. When she died four months later they packed their bags, locked up their one-bedroom flat in Sheffield and moved into the roadside hotel.

In 1997, they decided it was time for a change. But instead of going house-hunting they simply checked into a newly-built Travelodge 15 minutes away in Grantham, Lincolnshire, where they remain to this day.

In total, the couple have spent more than £100,000 on accommodation and have had Grantham's Room One renamed the Davidson Suite in their honour. Their flat, now worth £100,000, remains empty.

"We like going for day trips or having lunch at local hotels as well as eating at the Little Chef on site. "For us it's a better and cheaper option than an old people's home and we're well looked after."

"We are going to mount a plaque in reception celebrating their ten-year anniversary at the hotel."
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