IT has taken five years of planning, more than a year of building and has cost in the region of £4.5m.

This week Southampton's newest school has opened its doors for the first time to the delight of pupils and staff - and two workers who found love while it was being built.

Springwell School in Hinkler Road, Thornhill, can cater for sixty children aged four to eleven with complex learning difficulties.

Built on spare land at the Thornhill Primary School site it features a courtyard surrounded by eight classrooms, a library, school hall, multi-sensory room and hydrotherapy pool.

There is also a soft playroom, art and music rooms and a state of the art ICT suite.

The school is also pleased that love struck during the construction of the school building with site project manager Ben Taylor, 34, and driver Sarah Gurl, 26, set to tie the knot later this month.

Ben, from Chandler's Ford met Sarah, from Titchfield who regularly drove a cesspit tanker to the building site to clear the mobile toilets.

She said: "It was a strange way to meet but I was smitten from the start. People are thrilled with the new school, and also thrilled that there was a little bit of romance along the way."

The couple will get married at Holy Rood Church in Stubbington before going on a two week honeymoon which is being kept a closely-guarded secret.