Dirty dating

BY KEELEY KNOWLES

A dating site for 'muddy' people has been rewarded for its success.

Sisters Lucy and Emma Reeves came up with the idea of Muddy Matches in 2006 after finding it hard to meet men who shared their passion for the countryside.

Lucy has been crowned East of England Young Businesswoman of the Year for Under 30 year olds for their Muddy Matches enterprise.

Lucy, 29, and Emma, 32, grew up on a farm in Podington and both were unattached when they hatched the idea in the local pub.

Lucy said: "We found it difficult to find men with the same interests and as you get older it's harder to meet new people because all your friends start pairing up.

"We thought it'd be a good idea so raced back home to see whether there was any other sites like it and there wasn't so we registered the domain name the same day.

"I never thought that it would become this big but I think a lot more people want to get back to the muddiness of the countryside."

The site now has 20,000 members and has led to around ten marriages and engagements and two babies.

It is for country-minded people including farmers, rural residents, equestrian types and anyone who is not afraid of getting dirty.

Muddy Matches are encouraged to take the 'muddy test' which works out their country-bumpkin to city-lover ratio.

It's not just the members who have met their mud matches.

Lucy and Emma are now romantically linked with farmers since starting the website.

Said Lucy: "I wasn't expecting this award at all. People often mention the site in a jokey way so it's nice to be taken seriously.

"We have a strong business that even during the recession keeps doing well. We reccommend that people meet up quite quickly because they could be talking to somebody for months and then meet up and there's no spark between them."