PETER and Lynn Gilbert, Evesham's new lock keepers, just can't wait for the hazy lazy days of summer.

They moved into their smart Scandinavian-type quarters, which straddles the Avon off Common Road, in March this year and fell in love with the place.

Business was slow for the first two months due to the foot and mouth crisis, but now that many restrictions have been lifted, the pair are looking forward to greeting hoards of boaters cruising up and down the Upper and Lower Avon.

Peter said: "This is such a perfect place to live and work. We are surrounded by wildlife, meet loads of interesting people and there's no such thing as boat rage, so there's definitely no stress."

Lynn is determined to make her bit of the riverbank a floral sight to behold this summer, and Peter is collecting interesting bits of drift-wood to turn into planters to make up for the lack of garden space.

Lynn, aged 54, said: "I love plants and have got hanging baskets ordered. I want to make the whole area a welcoming place for boaters to enjoy while they are here."

The Gilbert's new beginning also follows a happy ending for the pair who have an extra special reason for contentment.

Peter's former wife Tina, who shared his love of the river, died five years ago, leaving a large hole in his life.

However, love blossomed again unexpectedly a couple of years later when he and his present wife, a former divorcee, met and married in Burford, with the happy approval of both sets of grown up children.

The couple tied the knot in December 1999, but the lock keeper's cottage they were living in at the time at Tewkesbury was flooded, and they had to be rowed out to the church at Burford and back.

She said: "We were marooned for five days - it was quite exciting really."

Before Lynn met her husband she worked for 21 years in a plant nursery. She's actually coming home to Evesham, having lived in Cowl Street in the 1960's, and this is where her daughters Nicola and Louise went to school.

Peter, 61, owned his own electrical contracting business, but for many years was a Lower Avon Navigational Trust volunteer.

"I was a reachmaster in my spare time, which involves looking after and caring for a particular stretch of riverside," he said.

"After Tina died I sold my house and was lucky enough to rent a cottage belonging to LANT in Tewkesbury, but when this job came along I had no hesitation in winding up my business to take it on - Lynn and I were both over the moon."

The couple operate a manual and an automatic gate at the lock next to the weir off Common Road where the upper joins the lower Avon.

They are on duty from 9am to 8pm, checking licences and managing a small gift shop, with three days off a fortnight in a season which runs from March to October - then they get the paint brushes out.

Peter said: "The main maintenance work gets done throughout the winter - there's always something to do keeping the lock and riverside in tip top condition."

Lynn said: "Business has been pretty slow so far, but I am looking forward to it being really busy."

The couple are also looking forward to their week's holiday in July - guess where? - on the Avon of course! They will be cruising down stream to Tewkesbury in their own boat.