A FAMILY want to swap their luxury villa on a Spanish island for a home in Harpenden. Julie and Rob Day have recently relocated to the town after spending 10 years in Menorca bringing up their three children in the sunshine. They moved to the island from

A FAMILY want to swap their luxury villa on a Spanish island for a home in Harpenden.

Julie and Rob Day have recently relocated to the town after spending 10 years in Menorca bringing up their three children in the sunshine.

They moved to the island from London for a better life but sent their two oldest children to board at St George's School in Harpenden on the recommendation of their friends in the ex-pat community.

Their youngest son, 11-year-old Archie, will hopefully be following in his siblings' footsteps but his parents wanted him to have the benefit of an English primary education before going to secondary school.

So they moved to Harpenden around two years ago so that he could attend Roundwood Park primary and be educated through English rather than Spanish, which he had become used to.

His brother Emmanuel, aged 17, is still at St George's School and his sister Charlotte, aged 22, is also living in England to pursue her career in the property sector.

Since their relocation, Julie and Rob have been renting in Station Road, Harpenden, as they have been unable to sell their luxury Menorca country home with a swimming pool due to the current slump in the property market.

Now, in a bid to find their new family home, they have come up with the idea of completing a house swap with a family in Harpenden or within close proximity.

The couple believe it will be ideal for anyone struggling to sell their home like them and a straight swap will avoid the agency fees and taxes associated with normal house sales.

Julie said: "We are quite flexible. We are renting at the moment so we are in no hurry and whomever we swap with can take their time to get everything together. We are looking for a three to four-bedroom property with a garage, preferably detached."

Julie misses her laid-back life in Menorca deeply and recommends it to anyone.

She said: "The cost of living in Menorca is much less than here, it is a much healthier lifestyle and you can relax - here everyone is running around at 90mph. And it's so friendly there. The weather is lovely and we have spent many Christmases in shorts and T-shirts eating dinner in the garden."

She added: "We think this could be a great opportunity for anyone wanting to escape to a paradise island and live in a wonderful country house."

She said that the children had grown up speaking fluent Spanish and had enjoyed more freedom than would ever be possible in England.

Julie and Rob, who owns a hairdressing salon in London, are looking for a home in the region of £500,000 to £700,000 but are open to sensible offers.

Their villa in Menorca is detached with four large bedrooms in the town of San Luis and is set within 2,500 square metres of grounds which includes fruit trees.

It has a large pool with an outside bar, barbecue area and pool house as well as a garage.

The house is a five-minute drive to the beach and 10 minutes from the town of Mahon and the airport.

Included in the swap will be a small speedboat and a car with other items such as a soft-top convertible and a motorbike up for negotiation.

Anyone interested in the house swap should contact Julie on 07807 537056 or email her on jramsey@infotelecom.es