JAMAL Dias left sunny Portugal for a new life in Bolton and doesn't regret it for a minute.

If it wasn't for the rain here in this country he believes we'd be flooded with people wanting to live here.

"If you had the weather we have in Portugal your little island would sink with all the people moving here," he said.

Although it is no surprise that Jamal is a much sought-after model, he isn't just a pretty face.

Standing 6ft 3ins tall and with an infectious personality, he now wants to use his brains and not just his looks to get on in life.

He has done one year of a three year HND in Business Studies and eventually wants to move into the fashion business.

For Jamal, aged 31, it was an easy decision to leave Portugal and come to England to study.

From his smart rented home in Deane, he said: "In this country the progress of individuals is encouraged. It is not like that in Portugal.

"Here if you want to do something you can do it."

And his reason for choosing Bolton? "It has the best course and I didn't want to live in London. It's mad there with people running everywhere. I wanted to live near Manchester where it is a lot more relaxed," he said.

While Jamal and his partner, Milene, aged 24, have been living in Bolton there has been a new addition to their family. Diego was born four months ago at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The proud dad is delighted to be able to get involved in Bolton life with his baby son.

"I want to go to the local parks and when he's older I'll go dancing with him," said a smiling Jamal.

Jamal was born in one of Africa's smallest countries, Sao Tome and Principe - a Portuguese island colony off the west coast - where the main language is Portuguese.

He moved to Portugal, with his parents, when he was a small child, as they wanted their children - three girls and two boys - to get a good education.

But it is his further education that has now taken him from Portugal to England. "Here in Bolton you can study and organise your life," said Jamal who is able to study at Bolton University and still do modelling work to earn a living.

"In Portugal I would be studying for five years, full-time, from 9am to 6pm and would not be able to work," he said.

Thanks to Britain and Portugal's EU status more foreign students are able to travel to Britain than ever before.

Bolton has, said Jamal, a thriving Portuguese community with many studying at the university and others going into business here.

It has given Jamal and Milene a great circle of friends and encouraged them all to improve their English.

Milene plans to go to college and learn more English and then get a job in Bolton.

Jamal has been signed up by Manchester and London model agencies and has while in this country, so far, done work for a breakfast cereal company and a kitchen manufacturer.

Before he came to England Jamal was a top model appearing all over the world.

He has been to Milan, Madrid, Barcelona and Dusseldorf and appeared in advertisements for sports companies and modelled at fashion shows.

He loves to keep fit - apparently Bolton University has a super gym - but, so far, has not discovered what British people typically eat.

"In Portugal we eat a lot of fish and potatoes and vegetables. We have traditional dishes that we've managed to find at supermarkets. But we don't really know what is a traditional British meal," said Jamal, who has, yet, to sample the northern favourite, fish and chips.

His life in Bolton is far better, he said, than it would be in Portugal.

The minimum wage in Portugal is £200 a month, he said, but the cost of things in the shops is comparable to this country.

Services such as education and health are paid for in Portugal.

"Although the weather is not good here, everything else is so much better," he said. "Personally and professionally you can have a better life here in Bolton."

When he finishes his course Jamal hopes he and Milene - who plan to marry - will be able to set up home permanently in Bolton.

"It is a lovely place to live and we are very happy here," he said.

Factfile

  • The University of Bolton has 8,200 students in total
  • There are 500 foreign students studying here, in Bolton
  • Those 500 students come from 50 different countries
  • Bolton University also has students studying overseas, in different parts of the world