Sunshine state to snowbound town for ex-pat

Feb 9 2009 by Natalie Mullin, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

There was a old shock in store for a family from Florida when they arrived in Huddersfield. News correspodent NATALIE MULLIN reports

A FAMILY from the sunshine state of Florida had fun in the snow when they returned home to Huddersfield to visit family.

Dean O’Flaherty, 37, was back home in Dalton for the first time in 16 years, after moving to the United States to follow his true love – skydiving.

And his visit with wife Jessica, 26 and his young son Aidan, two, coincided with the worst snowfall to hit the town for 20 years.

It was the first time Florida-born Jessica and Aidan had experienced snow.

Dean’s parents had been due to visit him in Florida last year but could not make the trip when the travel firm Travel City Direct went bust last September.

So Dean planned a return to his home town and was delighted to see the snow, as he and his family enjoyed a day out at Castle Hill.

It was a world of difference from the weather the family normally experience in Titusville, Florida, where Dean has established himself as one of the world’s leading skydiving instructors and photographers.

Dean was born in Huddersfield in 1971 and went to school in Rawthorpe. He later studied at the former Huddersfield Technical College and then worked as an attendant at Huddersfield Sports Centre.