Many men have declared they would drive to the ends of the earth for their partner but Paul Kelly isn't going that far - he's just driving to Romania.

He sets off tomorrow on a 1,500-mile car trip to propose to the woman he first met nine years ago during a chess tournament.

Paul, from St Leonards, was instantly smitten with Simona Elena Jecan, a former maths teacher, and invited her to watch him play chess the following day.

Romance blossomed years later and Paul, 47, is preparing his Nissan Cherry automatic for the arduous journey to seal their love.

He said he will get down on one knee to ask for 32-year-old Simona's hand in marriage before producing a diamond ring.

Paul, who runs Mind Sports, which sells books, board games and computer software in Norman Road, St Leonards, said: "I'm pretty certain she'll say yes.

"We have already talked about marriage quite a lot and this will be my formal proposal to her. I'm looking forward to it because it is going to be the most important thing I've ever done in my life.

"There is a bit of trepidation but I'm sure it will be fine."

They met when Paul was at a chess tournament in Budapest, Hungary. The contest finished in the early hours and, after missing his Metro back to his guesthouse, Paul decided to sample some of the city's nightlife.

He said: "I was walking back to my guest house at 3am and spotted Simona drinking coffee.

"I was absolutely knocked out by her looks and I thought to myself, 'Let's go and say hello'. She is a very beautiful young woman, we got talking and she watched me play chess the following day."

Simona has never been able to live in England because of problems with visa applications. The couple's relationship petered out and they lost touch.

But six months ago, Simona emailed Paul out of the blue after tracing his address through the Google internet search engine.

Paul, who has never married, said: "Her question to me was, 'Are you the Paul Kelly I knew several years ago?' I felt pretty good after she got in touch.

"It was obvious she wanted to renew acquaintances with me so I thought why not?

"I'm a 47-year-old man and all the women I know just want me as a friend and nothing more. I saw this as an opportunity for me and I decided to take it."

After a series of international phone calls and emails, Paul spent five days in Simona's home town of Gherla last September.

He said: "It was a lovely time. When we first kissed, she reminded me of a young Sophia Loren. She also found me a very nice hotel to stay in. One morning, I heard a noise outside the door and I opened it to find a woman cleaning.

"She said, 'Is Simona there?' and I said, 'No, but maybe in ten minutes'. The woman turned out to be her mother and she kissed me on both cheeks. I was an instant hit with her."

Should Simona agree to his proposal, Paul hopes they will set up home in Sussex.

He said: "I spoke to her last night and she is meeting me on the Romanian border with her cousin, who'll probably be checking my driving, among other things. I just hope she says yes."