FOR Local Newspaper Week we have been celebrating what the Evening Advertiser does in Swindon.

But the Adver has no boundaries as the Smith family in New Zealand have proved.

We have tracked down people who like to stay in touch with what's happening in the town even when they are on the other side of the world.

And the Smith family, who emigrated to New Zealand 30 years ago, are regular readers of the paper thanks to our thisiswiltshire.co.uk website and also get copies sent to them.

Jim, 76, and Edna, 75, moved to Auckland in 1975.

Jim worked at Pressed Steel before they decided to swap Wiltshire for warmer climes.

The couple have now left the hustle and bustle of city life to live on a small island, just off the city's coast called Waihe-kei.

The couple's son, Dave, 44, got in touch with us because the whole family loves reading the Advertiser online.

The engineer, speaking from Auckland, said: "We are born and bred Swindonians.

"Although we could never move back to Swindon we still don't feel like we're from New Zealand, so we like to keep up with all the news.

"The whole family reads the Advertiser.

"We know everything that's going on in the town."

They still have family and friends that live here and are planning a trip back this summer.

It will be the first time Dave has been back to the town since they left it.

Dave said: "We still see family names in the paper that we recognise."

When the family returns to Swindon they are looking forward to seeing the Adver-tiser in print.

Mr Smith said: "It's a great paper. It's got lots of news in it. We get copies sent over to us occasionally. It's just a shame we can't get it here in New Zealand."

Globetrotter David Taylor reads stories from the Adver-tiser when he is thousands of miles away from home working. By using our website the 53-year-old Mr Taylor, of Gartons Road, Middleleaze, gets to grips with the burning issues in the town while he is working abroad in countries like Japan and China.

The car industry consultant, has been an avid Advertiser reader since 1959.

"I like keeping in touch with what's going on in the local area as it makes me feel closer to home," he said.

"The website is easy to access and I often recommend it to people.

"There seems to be much more of a personal touch in today's paper and it seems to have more news in it than some national papers which are full of gossip."

Mr Taylor, who is due to leave shortly for another trip abroad, is married to Maureen and has two children, Andy, 25, and Hayley, 18.

"The best bit of the website is that I often see the news stories before my wife," said the former Rover and BMW worker.

And across the Atlantic the Wheeler family all enjoy reading the Advertiser.

Nigel Wheeler, his son and father all log on to our website in America to keep up to date with what's going on in the town.

Mr Wheeler, 49, of Cullerne Road, Coleview, who is single, is an entrepreneur.

He lived in Chicago from 1990 to 2001 and regularly read the Advertiser online.

He said: "When I lived there, I followed the Advertiser religiously.

"Sometimes when you're away you do feel homesick, so it's a good way to feel closer to home."

Mr Wheeler's son, Michael, 21, is studying forensic science in Milwaukee, Chicago but finds time to check the football results.

And Mr Wheeler's father, Pat, who was well known in the Swindon football world, is also a fan of the paper.

Pat, a former Pressed Steel worker, moved to Chicago in 1979 with his wife who had emigrated to Chicago.

The 73-year-old has since moved to sunnier climes in Florida but still checks in with the latest news from his home town.

Mr Wheeler said: "We're Swindonians and we want to keep up with all the local news."

Local Newspaper Week ends tomorrow.

Ben Payne