Lovestruck Andy Golby will today raise a St Valentine's Day toast to the biggest gamble of his life.

Andy quit his job, sold most of his possessions and flew to Spain to be with a woman he had never even met before.

He spoke no Spanish, had never flown and had no job or home waiting for him.

He had only communicated with Patricia Rojo over the phone and through emails after meeting her in an internet chatroom.

But the risk paid off as the pair will be celebrating the most romantic day of the year today at the new home they have set up together in Hove.

Andy, 31, and Patricia, 26, struck up a rapport over the internet despite the fact he knew no Spanish and she only spoke broken English. But they soon progressed to sending each other daily emails and speaking on the phone every night.

Within less than four months, Andy decided to abandon his life in England and move to Spain - though not without serious misgivings on both sides.

He said: "I had never been abroad before, let alone flown anywhere on my own. But I had a good feeling about Patricia."

He quit his job with a local sign-making firm, sold most of his possessions and moved out of his rented Hove flat.

Andy said: "I had been fed up with my job for a while and had nothing else to keep me here. Speaking to Patricia on the internet just inspired me so much. She had done a lot of travelling and I had done nothing except work. I decided to take a risk.

"I kept my CDs, clothes and a few photos but basically went over to Spain with just a bit of luggage and £1,300 in my pocket."

Patricia said: "I was scared in the days building up to his arrival. I started to worry about what he would be like.

"The plane was delayed for two hours so that made the waiting worse. But he made me feel really happy - first with his emails, then when we were together."

Not everything went smoothly in Madrid, though. Andy stayed in a hostel before finding a flat to share with three other men but he struggled to find a job.

Eventually, Patricia's father helped him get a position with a printing firm.

Andy said: "I had a lot of cultural differences to get used to. In the first month, I think we hated each other - but it eventually made our relationship stronger"

Andy moved to Madrid in April 2000. He brought Patricia to England in June 2001, where they now live in Portland Road, Hove.

He works for a printing firm in Burgess Hill while she got a job as a part-time clerk at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

They are saving for a permanent move back to Spain within the next two years.

He said: "When we tell people how we got together they don't believe us. I can't quite believe it myself."