THE French village of Glenac, set in beautiful countryside with a river flowing through it, would seem a natural partner for one of Norfolk's finest Broadland villages.

THE French village of Glenac, set in beautiful countryside with a river flowing through it, would seem a natural partner for one of Norfolk's finest Broadland villages.

Now this rustic marriage looks like becoming a reality after a British ex-pat living in Glenac sent out a lonely hearts advert to Norfolk County Council asking if her idyllic Brittany village could be twinned with our own answer to rural charm, Reedham.

And the proposal has been embraced wholeheartedly by Reedham Parish Council, which is particularly keen for the village's schoolchildren to improve their knowledge of foreign languages and cultures.

Parish council clerk Stephen Williamson said the ex-pat's email spoke of how the Glenac villagers wanted to twin with somewhere in Norfolk, due to the similarities her village shared with its Broadland counterparts and mentioned Reedham in particular.

Her message also said how keen the French were to see the greyhound racing at Yarmouth's Caister Road stadium as well as a Norwich City football match.

Mr Williamson said the councillors planned to invite “half-a-dozen” Glenac representatives to Reedham to discuss the twinning proposal and see what the village has to offer, which could include visits to Pettitts Animal Adventure Park in Church Road and the Humpty Dumpty Brewery.

If the relationship goes well, the next stage could be for children from the village primary school to go on exchange visits to the Glenac school to learn more about the French way of life.

“It is something that the parish council would very much like to explore. We can see all sorts of benefits for everyone in the village, but particularly from the children's point of view,” Mr Williamson said.

Another beneficiary could be Reedham's Royal British Legion representatives as Glenac is close to the Normandy coast and Mr Williamson said the second world war veterans could be interested in visiting some of their battlefields.

The French village, which has a population of 810, is 60 miles from the coast and is listed on the Wikipedia website as having a mayor, Rene Morice.

The concept of twinning towns and cities has existed for centuries, but became more prominent after the second world war as a means of bringing European people closer together and promoting projects of mutual benefit.